Tosca

Composed by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Luigi Illica & Giuseppe Giacosa
Sung in Italian with English surtitles

Kathleen Clawson, stage director
Neal Gittleman, conductor
Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
Jeffrey Powell, chorus master
Dayton Opera Chorus
Dayton Opera Children’s Chorus
Joe Beumer, lighting designer
Ercole Sormani, scenic designer
Susan Memmott Allred, costume designer
Lyn Baudendistel, costume coordinator
Tom Venditelli, wig/makeup designer
Cass Brake, wig/makeup designer
Candace Leyland, wig/makeup assistant
John Lavarnway, props coordinator
Charlie Cromer, fight director
Andrea Chenoweth Wells, intimacy director
Lisa Marie Lange, production stage manager
Kelly DeLisle, resident stage manager & fight captain
Alex Wolfthal, assistant stage manager
Cory Battey, rehearsal pianist
Steven Aldredge, chorus rehearsal pianist
Milena Treer, director of production
Pat Keough, technical director
Tim Crommes, company manager

United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, IATSE is the union representing Scenic, Costume, Lighting, Sound, and Projection Designers in Live Performance.

THIS PERFORMANCE IS SPONSORED BY
The Jesse & Caryl Philips Foundation
Paul and Dolores Anderson
ELM Foundation
Dr. Ron Anderson and Robb Sloan Anderson
Phil Wise and Joe Law
Dale and Karen Medford

Ron Anderson
Marcus Bedinger
Rachael Boezi
Guy Chambers
Carol Chatfield
Byran Daly
Gabriella Erbacher
Ben Flanders
Tifton Graves
Amy R. Herbst
Skye Johnson
Desmond Kingston
Samantha Leal
Tom Lehmann
Aaron Meece
Mark Mehlhope
Emily Murphy
Lisa Polen
Paula Powell
Megan Rehberg
Lorraine Rohrer
Graysen Schaney
Cynthia Schindler
Anthony Sollenberger
Michael Taint
Stephanie Voelker

Emerson Benbrahim
Rolana Dorf
Aaron Exman
Shay Gogate
Amelie Hymans
Lina Lamboy
Isla Lewis
Ifeoma Obetta
Evalyn Pleiman
Chrystel Wiggins

CONTENT WARNING: Puccini’s Tosca contains material which may not be suitable for all audiences. Set in Rome in 1800—a time of great political upheaval—the production contains scenes of highly theatrical violence: torture, attempted sexual assault, gun shots, suicide, and death.

Premiered January 15, 1900; Rome, Italy — Tosca is set amid the turbulence of the Napoleonic Wars at the turn of the nineteenth century. In 1796, Napoleon’s forces invaded Italy; by 1798, they had occupied the city of Rome, expelled the pope, and established a republic governed by seven consuls. In 1799, the withdrawal of Napoleon’s forces left Rome vulnerable to the Kingdom of Naples, who remains in control of the city in June 1800, when the story of Tosca takes place.

ACT I
In the Church of Sant’ Andrea della Valle, Cesare Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner, rushes in breathlessly; he is looking for a hiding place and ducks into his family chapel. A sacristan and the painter Mario Cavaradossi enter, both unaware of Angelotti’s presence. Cavaradossi contemplates his lover, the dark-haired Floria Tosca, comparing her beauty to that of the model for his blonde Magdalene—Angelotti’s sister, the Marchesa Attavanti (“Recondita armonia”)

After the Sacristan grumblingly finishes his chores, Angelotti emerges. Mario provides food and hurries Angelotti back into the chapel as Tosca calls from outside and then enters the church, her jealousy aroused. No sooner has Cavaradossi calmed her and she completed her prayers, than she recognizes the Marchesa in the painting and renews her accusations, but he again reassures her (“Qual’ occhio al mondo”). She leaves, and Cavaradossi signals his friend to leave the chapel.

A cannon signals the alarm for Angelotti’s escape, prompting the two to leave for Cavaradossi’s villa. Choirboys and the Sacristan enter the church, excitedly preparing for a “Te Deum” to be performed later that day, but their gaiety is suddenly squelched by the entrance of the terrifying Baron Scarpia, the chief of police, looking for Angelotti. When Tosca returns looking for Cavaradossi, Scarpia—who secretly desires her—inflames her jealousy by showing her the Marchesa’s fan. She departs in a fury, leaving Scarpia to mull his scheme for entrapping both Tosca and Angelotti by exploiting the diva’s jealous nature. Oblivious to the “Te Deum,” he becomes increasingly excited, ignoring the choristers chanting in God’s name (“Va, Tosca”); suddenly he remembers he is in church, exclaiming “Tosca, you have made me forget God!”

ACT II
In his elegant offices in the Farnese Palace, Scarpia muses on his pleasure in dominating Tosca (“Ha piu forte sapore”). His lieutenant, Spoletta, arrives after unsuccessfully searching for Angelotti, and brings Cavaradossi instead.

As Cavaradossi is interrogated about Angelotti’s whereabouts, Tosca sings in distant counterpoint at a royal gala downstairs. Afterward she arrives at Scarpia’s offices still in full dress; her lover, Cavaradossi is to be removed for more extreme questioning. Tormented by the sound of his screams, she reveals Angelotti’s hiding place. Cavaradossi is carried back in and understands that Tosca has informed on Angelotti, but his anger turns to exultation when an officer rushes in to announce that Napoleon has won the Battle of Marengo, a defeat for Scarpia’s allies. Defiantly shouting “Vittoria!”, Cavaradossi is dragged to prison and Tosca is suddenly alone with her nemesis, Scarpia. He calmly resumes his interrupted supper, suggesting to Tosca that she possesses the power to save her lover’s life—if she will give herself to Scarpia first. In despair, Tosca turns to God, asking why her piety and dedication to art have been repaid in this way (“Vissi d’arte”). Spoletta enters with news that Angelotti, faced with capture, has killed himself. Cornered and desperate, Tosca accepts Scarpia’s terms. Scarpia pretends to order a mock-execution for Cavaradossi and writes a safe-conduct order for him and Tosca. As he shouts “Tosca, finally mine!” she grabs a knife from his table and stabs him, countering, “This is Tosca’s kiss!” She wrests the safe-conduct order from his stiffening hand, places candles at his head and a crucifix on his chest, and leaves.

ACT III
As dawn breaks over the Castel Sant’ Angelo, a shepherd boy sings a morning song and church bells toll. Cavaradossi is awaiting his execution and bribes a guard to convey a farewell note to Tosca. As he writes, feelings of love and despair overwhelm him (“E lucevan le stelle”). Suddenly, Tosca runs in, excitedly recounting the details of her presumed triumph over Scarpia. Mario caresses the hands that committed murder for his sake (“O dolci mani”), and the two hail their future. As the firing squad marches in, Tosca—ever the performer—coaches Cavaradossi on how to fake his death convincingly; the soldiers fire and depart. Tosca urges her lover to hurry, but when he fails to move, she discovers that Scarpia’s treachery has transcended the grave: the bullets were real. When Spoletta rushes in to arrest Tosca for Scarpia’s murder, she cries out to Scarpia that she will meet him before God—then leaps from the parapet to her death.

Synopsis by Michael Clive

When asked to write notes, directors usually comment on their concept or “take” on the piece. I’m not shy about re-thinking the time or place of an opera to provide a fresh way of experiencing a work, but Puccini’s masterpiece needs no such rethinking. The story (based on a play by Sardou) of Tosca and Cavaradossi—two lovers caught in the net of the political intrigue by Scarpia, the villain-you-love-to-hate—has been disparaged as mere melodrama, but Puccini’s music elevates it to greatness. From the first fortissimo chords in the orchestra, we are thrust into the action which unfolds grippingly before us.

In 2015, preparing for the last time I directed Tosca, I made a trip to Rome to see the real locations where the opera is set. Visiting the Basilica of Sant’ Andrea della Valle, I retraced Angelotti’s steps, imagining each moment in the first act. The Palazzo Farnese (now the French Embassy) was not open while I was there but gazing up at its windows, I could envision Scarpia closing them to shut out the sound of the cantata while he interrogates Cavaradossi. Walking up the stone steps of the Castel Sant’Angelo (with the haunting clarinet solo in “e lucevan le stelle” playing in my mind) I stopped short of following Tosca’s steps off the parapet! It was my good fortune to see a new production of Tosca at the Opera di Roma while I was there, part of a project called “La Memoria” that will revive historic productions. The 1900 world premiere of Tosca was meticulously recreated with the original costume and scenic designs by Adolf Hohenstein and the original staging notes carefully followed. It was one of the most memorable nights of theater I’ve ever experienced. No technological wizardry or directorial sleight of hand was required. It was an evening filled with great singing, a magnificent orchestra, and a cast committed to telling the story in a production that respected the brilliance of its creators.

The production you will see is richly informed by the experience of seeing those places and that production. Our sets by the Italian master Ercole Sormani harken back to this time of magnificent painted scenery. My first memory of opera is a mental snapshot of a Tosca I saw in Santa Fe of the beautiful diva who lived for love and art. Here’s hoping there is a 9-year-old in the audience whose memory of our production (or at least the beautiful red velvet dress in Act 2) will inspire a lifetime of operatic experiences.

– Kathleen Clawson, Artistic Director, Dayton Opera