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100-510: Puccini saw Sardou's play when it was touring Italy in 1889 and, after some vacillation, obtained the rights to turn the work into an opera in 1895. Turning the wordy French play into a succinct Italian opera took four years, during which the composer repeatedly argued with his librettists and publisher. Tosca premiered at a time of unrest in Rome, and its first performance was delayed for a day for fear of disturbances. Despite indifferent reviews from

200-484: A canon of St Peter's Basilica. In 1758, putting an end to an engagement to be married, Braschi was ordained to the priesthood. He was also appointed in 1758 Referendary of the Apostolic Signatura and held that position until the following year. He also became the auditor and secretary to Cardinal Carlo Rezzonico , the nephew of Pope Clement XIII . In 1766, Clement XIII appointed Braschi treasurer of

300-512: A "shabby little shocker"—the power of its score and the inventiveness of its orchestration have been widely acknowledged. The dramatic force of Tosca and its characters continues to fascinate both performers and audiences, and the work remains one of the most frequently performed operas. Many recordings of the work have been issued, both of studio and live performances. The French playwright Victorien Sardou wrote more than 70 plays, almost all of them successful, and none of them performed today. In

400-511: A Roman premiere for the opera, even though this meant that Arturo Toscanini could not conduct it as Puccini had planned—Toscanini was fully engaged at La Scala in Milan. Leopoldo Mugnone was appointed to conduct. The accomplished (but temperamental) soprano Hariclea Darclée was selected for the title role; Eugenio Giraldoni , whose father had originated many Verdi roles, became the first Scarpia. The young Enrico Caruso had hoped to create

500-451: A collection of songs interrupted by recitative or spoken dialogue . Examples of the modern trend towards through-composed works in musical theater include the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Claude-Michel Schönberg . In musical theater, works with clear delineations between songs yet no spoken dialogue – such as Les Misérables or Hamilton – are usually instead referred to by the term " through-sung ". While through-composed form

600-687: A conspiracy against the church. The pope condemned both the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and supported a league against the revolution. He issued two briefs – Quod aliquantum (1791) and Caritas (1791) – to condemn the ecclesiastical reforms that were proposed. 1791 marked the end of diplomatic relations with France and

700-560: A friend to have a "good romanesco poet" write some words; eventually the poet and folklorist Luigi "Giggi" Zanazzo  [ it ] wrote the verse which, after slight modification, was placed in the opera. In October 1899, Ricordi realized that some of the music for Cavaradossi's act 3 aria, "O dolci mani" was borrowed from music Puccini had cut from his early opera, Edgar and demanded changes. Puccini defended his music as expressive of what Cavaradossi must be feeling at that point, and offered to come to Milan to play and sing act 3 for

800-435: A gondola, and that she is asking the gondolier for silence. Sardou refused to consider this change, insisting that as in the play, Tosca must throw herself from the parapet to her death. Puccini agreed with Sardou, telling him that the mad scene would have the audiences anticipate the ending and start moving towards the cloakrooms. Puccini pressed his librettists hard, and Giacosa issued a series of melodramatic threats to abandon

900-466: A knife from the supper table. Scarpia triumphantly strides toward Tosca. When he begins to embrace her, she stabs him, crying "this is Tosca's kiss!" Once she's certain he's dead, she ruefully says "now I forgive him." She removes the safe-conduct from his pocket, lights candles in a gesture of piety, and places a crucifix on the body before leaving. The upper parts of the Castel Sant'Angelo , early

1000-489: A large amount of dialogue and exposition. While the broad details of the play are present in the opera's plot, the original work contains many more characters and much detail not present in the opera. In the play the lovers are portrayed as though they were French: the character Floria Tosca is closely modelled on Bernhardt's personality, while her lover Cavaradossi, of Roman descent, is born in Paris. Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa ,

1100-572: A major center of Pontifical trade. Pius was a great patron of the arts and humanities; he also added a new sacristy to Saint Peter's Basilica . At the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, Pius VI witnessed the suppression of the old Gallican Church as well as the confiscation of pontifical and ecclesiastical possessions in France. He saw the events as a sign of opposition against the social order ordained by God and also viewed it as

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1200-568: A martyr on 17 June 1793 in a meeting with cardinals, giving hope to a potential possibility of sainthood. In 1820, two decades following the death of Pius VI, the Congregation of Rites put an end to the possible sainthood since it was impossible to prove the king died for religious reasons rather than political ones. Pius VI argued that the main thrust of the revolution was against the Catholic religion and Louis XVI himself. He also wrote that

1300-690: A new staging, which premiered with Angela Gheorghiu . Callas had first sung Tosca at age 18 in a performance given in Greek, in the Greek National Opera in Athens on 27 August 1942. Tosca was also her last on-stage operatic role, in a special charity performance at the Royal Opera House on 7 May 1965. Among non-traditional productions, Luca Ronconi , in 1996 at La Scala, used distorted and fractured scenery to represent

1400-576: A reward system to encourage agriculture. Upon his election, Pius VI ordered the release of Lorenzo Ricci , Superior General of the Society of Jesus , who was held prisoner in the Castel Sant'Angelo , but Ricci died before the decree of liberation arrived. It is perhaps due to Pius VI that the Jesuits managed to escape dissolution in White Ruthenia and Silesia . In 1792, the pope considered

1500-496: A way of influencing appointments within the Catholic hierarchy, were seen as such a threat touched to papal authority that Pius VI adopted the exceptional course of travelling in person to Vienna . The Pope set out from Rome on 27 February 1782 and, though magnificently received by the Emperor, his mission proved a failure. Nevertheless, not many years later he did succeed in curbing the attempts of several German archbishops at

1600-437: A woman, using clothes left in the chapel by his sister. Cavaradossi gives Angelotti a key to his villa, suggesting that he hide in a disused well in the garden. The sound of a cannon signals that Angelotti's escape has been discovered. He and Cavaradossi hasten out of the church. The Sacristan re-enters with choristers, celebrating the news that Napoleon has apparently been defeated at Marengo. The celebrations cease abruptly with

1700-611: Is best remembered in connection with the expansion of the Pio-Clementine Museum , which was begun at the suggestion of his predecessor Clement XIV ; and with an attempt to drain the Pontine Marshes , but Pius VI did successfully drain the marshes near Città della Pieve , Perugia , and Spoleto . He also restored the Via Appia . Pius VI also deepened and expanded the harbors of Terracina and Porto d'Anzio,

1800-529: Is brought in, and an interrogation ensues. As the painter steadfastly denies knowing anything about Angelotti's escape, Tosca's voice is heard singing a celebratory cantata elsewhere in the Palace. She enters the apartment in time to see Cavaradossi being escorted to an antechamber. All he has time to say is that she mustn't tell them anything. Scarpia then claims she can save her lover from indescribable pain if she reveals Angelotti's hiding place. She resists, but

1900-477: Is especially characteristic of the literature of the art-song, where such works are contrasted with strophic settings.) Many examples of this form can be found in Schubert 's lieder , in which the words of a poem are set to music, and each line is different. In his lied " Erlkönig ", in which the setting proceeds to a different musical arrangement for each new stanza and whenever the piece comes to each character,

2000-471: Is most noticeable in musical settings of poems, in contrast to the often used strophic form (AAA). Through-composed songs have different music for each stanza of the lyrics . The German word durchkomponiert is also used to indicate this concept. Musicologist James Webster defines through-composed music in the following manner: In general usage, a 'through-composed' work is one based on run-on movements without internal repetitions. (The distinction

2100-586: Is very uncommon in popular music, several notable examples do exist: Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( Italian : Pio VI ; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi , 25 December 1717 – 29 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revolution and the suppression of

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2200-521: The 1740 papal conclave and when the latter became the Dean of the College of Cardinals in 1740, Braschi was appointed as his auditor , a post he held until 1753. His skill in the conduct of a mission to the court of Naples won him the esteem of Pope Benedict XIV . In 1753, following the death of Cardinal Ruffo, Benedict appointed Braschi one of his own secretaries. In 1755, the pope appointed him as

2300-483: The Abbey of Saint Scholastica, Subiaco , of which he was commendatory abbot . Pope Clement XIV died in 1774 and in the ensuing conclave to choose a successor, Spain , France and Portugal dropped all objections to the election of Braschi, who was one of the more moderate opponents of the anti- Jesuit stance of the late pope. Braschi received support from those who disliked the Jesuits and believed he would continue

2400-558: The Angelus sounds. The painter Mario Cavaradossi arrives to continue work on his picture of Mary Magdalene . The Sacristan identifies a likeness between the portrait and a blonde-haired woman who has been visiting the church recently (unknown to him, it is Angelotti's sister the Marchesa). Cavaradossi describes the "hidden harmony" (" Recondita armonia ") in the contrast between the blonde beauty of his painting and his dark-haired lover,

2500-534: The Catholic Church in France that resulted from it. French troops commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Papal army and occupied the Papal States in 1796. In 1798, upon his refusal to renounce his temporal power, Pius was taken prisoner and transported to France. He died eighteen months later in Valence . His reign of more than twenty-four years is the fifth-longest in papal history. Giovanni Angelo Braschi

2600-520: The Congress of Ems in 1786 to win greater independence. In the Kingdom of Naples the liberal minister Bernardo Tanucci agitated for certain concessions regarding feudal homage due to the papacy and some concessions were made. More serious disagreements arose with Leopold II , later emperor, and Scipione de' Ricci , bishop of Pistoia and Prato , upon the questions of proposed liberal reforms to

2700-557: The Royal Opera House , Covent Garden, on 12 July, with Milka Ternina and Fernando De Lucia as the doomed lovers and Antonio Scotti as Scarpia. Puccini wrote that Tosca was "[a] complete triumph", and Ricordi's London representative quickly signed a contract to take Tosca to New York. The premiere at the Metropolitan Opera was on 4 February 1901, with De Lucia's replacement by Giuseppe Cremonini

2800-620: The Vatican Grottoes . His remains were placed in an ancient marble sarcophagus. The inscription on the wall above the container reads: "The mortal remains of Pius VI, consumed in unjust exile, by order of Pius XII were placed fittingly here and decorated by a marble ornament most excellent for its art and history in 1949". A long audience with Pius VI is one of the most extensive scenes in the Marquis de Sade 's narrative Juliette , published in 1798. Juliette shows off her learning to

2900-414: The camera apostolica . Braschi was a conscientious administrator, which was not good news for some. The latter managed to convince Pope Clement XIV to curb his zeal by promoting him to the cardinalate and accordingly on 26 April 1773 he was made Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Onofrio . For a brief period of time this rendered him innocuous to the less scrupulous. Left without any specific task, he retired to

3000-473: The "Grand Tune" concept, Puccini retains a limited number of set-pieces, distinguished from their musical surroundings by their memorable melodies. Even in the passages linking these "Grand Tunes", Puccini maintains a strong degree of lyricism and only rarely resorts to recitative. Budden describes Tosca as the most Wagnerian of Puccini's scores, in its use of musical leitmotifs . Unlike Wagner, Puccini does not develop or modify his motifs, nor weave them into

3100-789: The American clergy from the jurisdiction of the Vicar Apostolic in England, and erected the first American episcopal see, the Diocese of Baltimore in November 1789. Pius VI elevated 73 cardinals in 23 consistories. He canonized no saints during his pontificate but beatified a total of 39 individuals that included Lawrence of Brindisi and Amato Ronconi . The pope also set the Papal States' finances on much steadier ground. Pius

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3200-772: The Church in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany . The papal bull Auctorem fidei , issued on 28 August 1794, is a condemnation of the Gallican and Jansenist propositions and tendencies of the Synod of Pistoia (1786). On 17 August 1775, Pope Pius VI promulgated with a Papal Decree the authenticity of Our Lady of Šiluva . Pius VI saw the development of the Catholic Church in the United States of America . He released

3300-461: The French are marching on Rome. Cavaradossi, unable to contain himself, gloats to Scarpia that his rule of terror will soon be at an end. This is enough for the police to consider him guilty, and they haul him away to be executed. Scarpia, now alone with Tosca, proposes a bargain: if she gives herself to him, Cavaradossi will be freed. She is revolted, and repeatedly rejects his advances, but she hears

3400-429: The French revolutionaries abolished "the monarchy, the best of all governments". In 1796, French Republican troops under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Italy and defeated the Papal troops. The French occupied Ancona and Loreto . Pius VI sued for peace which was granted at Tolentino on 19 February 1797; but on 28 December 1797, in a riot blamed by papal forces on some Italian and French revolutionists,

3500-422: The act 1 love duet. In August, Puccini removed several numbers from the opera, according to his biographer, Mary Jane Phillips-Matz , "cut[ting] Tosca to the bone, leaving three strong characters trapped in an airless, violent, tightly wound melodrama that had little room for lyricism". At the end of the year, Puccini wrote that he was "busting his balls" on the opera. Puccini asked clerical friends for words for

3600-445: The action. This production updates the story to a modern Mafia scenario, with special effects "worthy of a Bond film". In 1992 a television version of the opera was filmed at the locations prescribed by Puccini, at the times of day at which each act takes place. Featuring Catherine Malfitano , Plácido Domingo and Ruggero Raimondi , the performance was broadcast live throughout Europe. Luciano Pavarotti , who sang Cavaradossi from

3700-533: The afternoon, evening, and early morning of 17 and 18 June 1800. Italy had long been divided into a number of small states, with the Pope in Rome ruling the Papal States in Central Italy . Following the French Revolution , a French army under Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, entering Rome almost unopposed on 11 February 1798 and establishing a republic there. Pope Pius VI was taken prisoner, and

3800-529: The agreement, which Ricordi then assigned to the composer Alberto Franchetti . Illica wrote a libretto for Franchetti, who was never at ease with the assignment. When Puccini once again became interested in Tosca , Ricordi was able to get Franchetti to surrender the rights so he could recommission Puccini. One story relates that Ricordi convinced Franchetti that the work was too violent to be successfully staged. A Franchetti family tradition holds that Franchetti gave

3900-464: The archbishop- elector of Mainz , wrote under the pseudonym of "Febronius", expounding Gallican ideas of national Catholic Churches. Although Hontheim was himself induced (not without public controversy) publicly to retract his positions, they were nevertheless adopted in Austria . There the social and ecclesiastical reforms which had been undertaken by Emperor Joseph II and his minister Kaunitz , as

4000-449: The bullets were real. Heartbroken, she clasps her lover's lifeless body and weeps. The voices of Spoletta, Sciarrone, and the soldiers are heard, shouting that Scarpia is dead and Tosca has killed him. As the men rush in, Tosca rises, evades their clutches, and runs to the parapet. Crying "O Scarpia, avanti a Dio!" ("O Scarpia, we meet before God!"), she flings herself over the edge to her death. Sardou's five-act play La Tosca contains

4100-518: The character portrays its own voice register and tonality. Another example within instrumental music is Haydn 's ' Farewell Symphony '. The term "through-composed" is also applied to opera and musical theater to indicate a work that consists of an uninterrupted stream of music from beginning to end, as in the operas of Wagner . This stands in contrast to the practice, as for example occurs in Mozart's Italian - and German-language operas, of having

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4200-648: The church of Sant'Andrea della Valle Cesare Angelotti, former consul of the Roman Republic and now an escaped political prisoner , runs into the church and hides in the Attavanti private chapel – his sister, the Marchesa Attavanti, has left a key to the chapel hidden at the feet of the statue of the Madonna . The elderly Sacristan enters and begins cleaning. The Sacristan kneels in prayer as

4300-578: The church singing the Te Deum ; exclaiming 'Tosca, you make me forget even God!', Scarpia joins the chorus in the prayer. Scarpia's apartment in the Palazzo Farnese , that evening Scarpia, at supper, sends a note to Tosca asking her to come to his apartment, anticipating that two of his goals will soon be fulfilled at once. His agent, Spoletta, arrives to report that Angelotti remains at large, but Cavaradossi has been arrested for questioning. He

4400-598: The congregation to mutter at the start of the act 1 Te Deum ; when nothing they provided satisfied him, he supplied the words himself. For the Te Deum music, he investigated the melodies to which the hymn was set in Roman churches, and sought to reproduce the cardinal's procession authentically, even to the uniforms of the Swiss Guards . He adapted the music to the exact pitch of the great bell of St. Peter's Basilica , and

4500-444: The critics, the opera was an immediate success with the public. Musically, Tosca is structured as a through-composed work, with arias , recitative , choruses and other elements musically woven into a seamless whole. Puccini used Wagnerian leitmotifs to identify characters, objects and ideas. While critics have often dismissed the opera as a facile melodrama with confusions of plot—musicologist Joseph Kerman famously called it

4600-412: The day after the premiere, "the great fuss and the large amount of money for the bells have constituted an additional folly, because it passes completely unnoticed". Nevertheless, the bells provide a source of trouble and expense to opera companies performing Tosca to this day. In act 2, when Tosca sings offstage the cantata that celebrates the supposed defeat of Napoleon, Puccini was tempted to follow

4700-688: The drama". Other motifs identify Tosca herself, the love of Tosca and Cavaradossi, the fugitive Angelotti, the semi-comical character of the sacristan in act 1 and the theme of torture in act 2. Through-composed#Opera and musicals In the theory of musical form , through-composed music is a continuous, non- sectional , and non- repetitive piece of music. The term is typically used to describe songs, but can also apply to instrumental music. While most musical forms such as ternary form (ABA), rondo form (ABACABA), and sonata form (ABA') rely on repetition, through-composed music does not re-use material (ABCD). This constant introduction of new material

4800-450: The drums outside announcing an execution. As Scarpia awaits her decision, she prays, asking why God has abandoned her in her hour of need: " Vissi d'arte " ("I lived for art"). She tries to offer money, but Scarpia is not interested in that kind of bribe: he wants Tosca herself. Spoletta returns with the news that Angelotti has killed himself upon discovery, and that everything is in place for Cavaradossi's execution. Scarpia hesitates to give

4900-518: The early 1880s Sardou began a collaboration with actress Sarah Bernhardt , whom he provided with a series of historical melodramas. His third Bernhardt play, La Tosca , which premiered in Paris on 24 November 1887, and in which she starred throughout Europe, was an outstanding success, with more than 3,000 performances in France alone. Puccini had seen La Tosca at least twice, in Milan and Turin. On 7 May 1889 he wrote to his publisher, Giulio Ricordi , begging him to get Sardou's permission for

5000-458: The entry of Scarpia, his henchman Spoletta and several police agents. They have heard that Angelotti has sought refuge in the church. Scarpia orders a search, and the empty food basket and a fan bearing the Attavanti coat of arms are found in the chapel. Scarpia questions the Sacristan, and his suspicions are aroused further when he learns that Cavaradossi has been in the church; Scarpia mistrusts

5100-424: The field of battle. Their commander, Michael von Melas , sent this news south towards Rome. However, fresh French troops arrived in the late afternoon, and Napoleon attacked the tired Austrians. As Melas retreated in disarray with the remains of his army, he sent a second courier south with the revised message. The Neapolitans abandoned Rome, and the city spent the next fourteen years under French domination. Inside

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5200-474: The final libretto, relatively minor in the first two acts but much more appreciable in the third, where the description of the Roman dawn that opens the third act is much longer, and Cavaradossi's tragic aria, the eventual "E lucevan le stelle", has different words. The 1896 libretto also offers a different ending, in which Tosca does not die but instead goes mad. In the final scene, she cradles her lover's head in her lap and hallucinates that she and her Mario are on

5300-453: The firing squad shoots at him with blanks. He promises he will fall "like Tosca in the theatre". Cavaradossi is led away, and Tosca watches with increasing impatience as the firing squad prepares. The men fire, and Tosca praises the realism of his fall, "Ecco un artista!" ("What an actor!"). Once the soldiers have left, she hurries towards Cavaradossi, urging him, "Mario, su presto!" ("Mario, up quickly!"), only to find that Scarpia betrayed her:

5400-470: The following morning A shepherd boy is heard offstage singing (in Romanesco dialect ) "Io de' sospiri" ("I give you sighs") as church bells sound for matins . The guards lead Cavaradossi in and a jailer informs him that he has one hour to live. He declines to see a priest, but asks permission to write a letter to Tosca. He begins to write, but is soon overwhelmed by memories: " E lucevan le stelle " ("And

5500-452: The grasp of Scarpia. This was a great success, and Jeritza sang the aria while on the floor thereafter. Of her successors, opera enthusiasts tend to consider Maria Callas as the supreme interpreter of the role, largely on the basis of her performances at the Royal Opera House in 1964, with Tito Gobbi as Scarpia. This production, by Franco Zeffirelli , remained in continuous use at Covent Garden for more than 40 years until replaced in 2006 by

5600-412: The instrumental texture becomes completely supple, the gradations of sonority are innumerable, the blend unfailingly grateful to the ear." However, one critic described act 2 as overly long and wordy; another echoed Illica and Giacosa in stating that the rush of action did not permit enough lyricism, to the great detriment of the music. A third called the opera "three hours of noise". The critics gave

5700-452: The late 1970s, appeared in a special performance in Rome, with Plácido Domingo as conductor, on 14 January 2000, to celebrate the opera's centenary. Pavarotti's last stage performance was as Cavaradossi at the Met, on 13 March 2004. Early Cavaradossis played the part as if the painter believed that he was reprieved, and would survive the "mock" execution. Beniamino Gigli , who performed

5800-471: The music symphonically, but uses them to refer to characters, objects and ideas, and as reminders within the narrative. The most potent of these motifs is the sequence of three very loud and strident chords which open the opera and which represent the evil character of Scarpia—or perhaps, Charles Osborne proposes, the violent atmosphere that pervades the entire opera. Budden has suggested that Scarpia's tyranny, lechery and lust form "the dynamic engine that ignites

5900-719: The only change from the London cast. For its French premiere at the Opéra-Comique on 13 October 1903, the 72-year-old Sardou took charge of all the action on the stage. Puccini was delighted with the public's reception of the work in Paris, despite adverse comments from critics. The opera was subsequently premiered at venues throughout Europe, the Americas, Australia and the Far East; by the outbreak of war in 1914 it had been performed in more than 50 cities worldwide. Among

6000-477: The opera began again, and proceeded without further disruption. The performance, while not quite the triumph that Puccini had hoped for, was generally successful, with numerous encores. Much of the critical and press reaction was lukewarm, often blaming Illica's libretto. In response, Illica condemned Puccini for treating his librettists "like stagehands" and reducing the text to a shadow of its original form. Nevertheless, any public doubts about Tosca soon vanished;

6100-405: The order, looking to Tosca, and despairingly she agrees to submit to him. He tells Spoletta to arrange a mock execution, both men repeating that it will be "as we did with Count Palmieri", and Spoletta exits. Tosca insists that Scarpia must provide safe-conduct out of Rome for herself and Cavaradossi. He easily agrees to this and heads to his desk. While he's drafting the document, she quietly takes

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6200-695: The painter, and believes him complicit in Angelotti's escape. When Tosca arrives looking for her lover, Scarpia artfully arouses her jealous instincts by implying a relationship between the painter and the Marchesa Attavanti. He draws Tosca's attention to the fan and suggests that someone must have surprised the lovers in the chapel. Tosca falls for his deceit; enraged, she rushes off to confront Cavaradossi. Scarpia orders Spoletta and his agents to follow her, assuming she will lead them to Cavaradossi and Angelotti. He privately gloats as he reveals his intentions to possess Tosca and execute Cavaradossi. A procession enters

6300-533: The papal nuncio , Antonio Dugnani, was recalled to Rome as a result. One of the reasons for the breach was the seizure by the revolutionaries of the Comtat Venaissin , ending 516 years of Papal rule in Avignon. King Louis XVI of France was executed via guillotine on 21 January 1793, and his daughter Marie Thérèse petitioned Rome for the canonization of her father. Pius VI hailed the late king as

6400-444: The part that way. Gobbi, who in his later years often directed the opera, commented, "Unlike Floria, Cavaradossi knows that Scarpia never yields, though he pretends to believe in order to delay the pain for Tosca." The enduring popularity of Tosca has not been matched by consistent critical enthusiasm. After the premiere, Ippolito Valetta of Nuova antologia wrote, "[Puccini] finds in his palette all colours, all shades; in his hands,

6500-453: The piece. Nonetheless, Ricordi reached terms with Sardou and assigned the librettist Luigi Illica to write a scenario for an adaptation. In 1891, Illica advised Puccini against the project, most likely because he felt the play could not be successfully adapted to a musical form. When Sardou expressed his unease at entrusting his most successful work to a relatively new composer whose music he did not like, Puccini took offence. He withdrew from

6600-484: The playwright who joined the project to polish the verses, needed not only to cut back the play drastically, but to make the characters' motivations and actions suitable for Italian opera. Giacosa and Puccini repeatedly clashed over the condensation, with Giacosa feeling that Puccini did not really want to complete the project. The first draft libretto that Illica produced for Puccini resurfaced in 2000 after being lost for many years. It contains considerable differences from

6700-404: The policy of Clement XIV and maintain the provisions of Clement's brief Dominus ac Redemptor (1773) which had dissolved the order. On the other hand, the pro-Jesuit Zelanti faction believed him to be secretly sympathetic towards the order and expected him to remedy the wrongs the Jesuits suffered in the previous pontificate. These various expectations would face Braschi after his election with

6800-467: The political element", but still hails the work as "a triumph of pure theatre". Music critic Charles Osborne ascribes Tosca' s immense popularity with audiences to the taut effectiveness of its melodramatic plot, the opportunities given to its three leading characters to shine vocally and dramatically, and the presence of two great arias in "Vissi d'arte" and "E lucevan le stelle". The work remains popular today: according to Operabase , it ranks as fifth in

6900-414: The popular brigadier-general Mathurin- Léonard Duphot , who had gone to Rome with Joseph Bonaparte as part of the French embassy, was killed and a new pretext was furnished for invasion. General Louis-Alexandre Berthier marched to Rome, entered it unopposed on 10 February 1798, and, proclaiming a Roman Republic , demanded of the pope the renunciation of his temporal authority. Upon his refusal, Pius

7000-460: The premiere was followed by twenty performances, all given to packed houses. The Milan premiere at La Scala took place under Toscanini on 17 March 1900. Darclée and Giraldoni reprised their roles; the prominent tenor Giuseppe Borgatti replaced De Marchi as Cavaradossi. The opera was a great success at La Scala, and played to full houses. Puccini travelled to London for the British premiere at

7100-459: The problem of corruption in the Papal States . He reprimanded Prince Potenziani, the governor of Rome, for failing to adequately deal with corruption in the city, appointed a council of cardinals to remedy the state of the finances and relieve the pressure of imposts , called to account Nicolò Bischi for the spending of funds intended for the purchase of grain, reduced the annual disbursements by denying pensions to many prominent people, and adopted

7200-453: The prominent early Toscas was Emmy Destinn , who sang the role regularly in a long-standing partnership with the tenor Enrico Caruso . Maria Jeritza , over many years at the Met and in Vienna, brought her own distinctive style to the role, and was said to be Puccini's favorite Tosca. Jeritza was the first to deliver "Vissi d'arte" from a prone position, having fallen to the stage while eluding

7300-493: The publisher. Ricordi was overwhelmed by the completed act 3 prelude, which he received in early November, and softened his views, though he was still not completely happy with the music for "O dolci mani". In any event time was too short before the scheduled January 1900 premiere to make any further changes. By December 1899, Tosca was in rehearsal at the Teatro Costanzi . Because of the Roman setting, Ricordi arranged

7400-650: The real-life consul Liborio Angelucci . In September 1799 the French, who had protected the republic, withdrew from Rome. As they left, troops of the Kingdom of Naples occupied the city. In May 1800 Napoleon, by then the undisputed leader of France, brought his troops across the Alps to Italy once again. On 14 June his army met the Austrian forces at the Battle of Marengo (near Alessandria ). Austrian troops were initially successful; by mid-morning they were in control of

7500-406: The role many times in his forty-year operatic career, was one of the first to assume that the painter knows, or strongly suspects, that he will be shot. Gigli wrote in his autobiography: "he is certain that these are their last moments together on earth, and that he is about to die". Domingo, the dominant Cavaradossi of the 1970s and 1980s, concurred, stating in a 1985 interview that he had long played

7600-607: The role of Cavaradossi, but was passed over in favour of the more experienced Emilio De Marchi . The performance was to be directed by Nino Vignuzzi, with stage designs by Adolfo Hohenstein . At the time of the premiere, Italy had experienced political and social unrest for several years. The start of the Holy Year in December 1899 attracted the religious to the city, but also brought threats from anarchists and other anticlericals. Police received warnings of an anarchist bombing of

7700-823: The singer Floria Tosca. The Sacristan mumbles his disapproval before leaving. Angelotti emerges and tells Cavaradossi, an old friend who has republican sympathies, that he is being pursued by the Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia. Cavaradossi promises to assist him after nightfall. Tosca's voice is heard, calling to Cavaradossi. Cavaradossi gives Angelotti his basket of food and Angelotti hurriedly returns to his hiding place. Tosca enters and suspiciously asks Cavaradossi what he has been doing – she thinks that he has been talking to another woman. After Cavaradossi reassures her, Tosca tries to persuade him to take her to his villa that evening: "Non la sospiri, la nostra casetta" ("Do you not long for our little cottage"). She then expresses jealousy over

7800-415: The sound of screams coming through the door eventually breaks her down, and she tells Scarpia to search the well in the garden of Cavaradossi's villa. Scarpia orders his torturers to cease, and the bloodied painter is dragged back in. He is devastated to discover that Tosca has betrayed his friend. Sciarrone, another agent, then enters with news: there was an unexpected turn on the battlefield at Marengo, and

7900-495: The stars shone"). Tosca enters and shows him the safe-conduct pass she has obtained, adding that she has killed Scarpia and that the imminent execution is a sham. Cavaradossi must feign death, after which they can flee together before Scarpia's body is discovered. Cavaradossi is awestruck by his gentle lover's courage: "O dolci mani" ("Oh sweet hands"). The pair ecstatically imagine the life they will share, far from Rome. Tosca then anxiously coaches Cavaradossi on how to play dead when

8000-403: The subtleties of Sardou's original plot are handled "very lamely", so that "much of what happens, and why, is unintelligible to the spectator". Overall, however, Newman delivered a more positive judgement: "[Puccini's] operas are to some extent a mere bundle of tricks, but no one else has performed the same tricks nearly as well". Opera scholar Julian Budden remarks on Puccini's "inept handling of

8100-533: The text of Sardou's play and use the music of Giovanni Paisiello , before finally writing his own imitation of Paisello's style . It was not until 29 September 1899 that Puccini was able to mark the final page of the score as completed. Despite the notation, there was additional work to be done, such as the shepherd boy's song at the start of act 3. Puccini, who always sought to put local colour in his works, wanted that song to be in Roman dialect . The composer asked

8200-499: The theatre, and instructed Mugnone (who had survived a theatre bombing in Barcelona), that in an emergency he was to strike up the royal march . The unrest caused the premiere to be postponed by one day, to 14 January. By 1900, the premiere of a Puccini opera was a national event. Many Roman dignitaries attended, as did Queen Margherita , though she arrived late, after the first act. The Prime Minister of Italy , Luigi Pelloux

8300-621: The twists of fate reflected in the plot. Jonathan Miller , in a 1986 production for the 49th Maggio Musicale Fiorentino , transferred the action to Nazi-occupied Rome in 1944, with Scarpia as head of the fascist police. In Philipp Himmelmann's  [ de ] production on the Lake Stage at the Bregenz Festival in 2007 the act 1 set, designed by Johannes Leiacker, was dominated by a huge Orwellian "Big Brother" eye. The iris opens and closes to reveal surreal scenes beyond

8400-481: The universal re-establishment of the Society of Jesus as a bulwark against the ideas of the French Revolution , but did not carry this through. Besides facing dissatisfaction with this temporising policy, Pius VI also faced elements of Enlightenment thinking which sought to limit papal authority. Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim , since 1749 bishop of Myriophiri in partibus and auxiliary bishop and vicar-general to

8500-572: The virtual impossibility of satisfying either side. Cardinal Braschi was elected pope on 15 February 1775 and took the name "Pius VI". He was consecrated bishop on 22 February 1775 by Cardinal Gian Francesco Albani and was crowned that same day by the Cardinal Protodeacon Alessandro Albani . Pius VI first opened a jubilee his predecessor had already convoked, the 1775 Jubilee Year. The early acts of Pius VI gave fair promise of reformist rule and tackled

8600-477: The woman in the painting, whom she recognises as the Marchesa Attavanti. Cavaradossi explains the likeness; he has merely observed the Marchesa at prayer in the church. He reassures Tosca of his fidelity and asks her what eyes could be more beautiful than her own: "Qual'occhio al mondo" ("What eyes in the world"). After Tosca has left, Angelotti reappears and discusses with the painter his plan to flee disguised as

8700-417: The work a generally kinder reception in London, where The Times called Puccini "a master in the art of poignant expression", and praised the "wonderful skill and sustained power" of the music. In The Musical Times , Puccini's score was admired for its sincerity and "strength of utterance." After the 1903 Paris opening, the composer Paul Dukas thought the work lacked cohesion and style, while Gabriel Fauré

8800-684: The work back as a grand gesture, saying, "He has more talent than I do." American scholar Deborah Burton contends that Franchetti gave it up simply because he saw little merit in it and could not feel the music in the play. Whatever the reason, Franchetti surrendered the rights in May 1895, and in August Puccini signed a contract to resume control of the project. According to the libretto, the action of Tosca occurs in Rome in June 1800. Sardou, in his play, dates it more precisely; La Tosca takes place in

8900-523: The work to be made into an opera: "I see in this Tosca the opera I need, with no overblown proportions, no elaborate spectacle, nor will it call for the usual excessive amount of music." Ricordi sent his agent in Paris, Emanuele Muzio , to negotiate with Sardou, who preferred that his play be adapted by a French composer. He complained about the reception La Tosca had received in Italy, particularly in Milan, and warned that other composers were interested in

9000-434: The work. The two librettists were finally able to give Puccini what they hoped was a final version of the libretto in 1898. Little work was done on the score during 1897, which Puccini devoted mostly to performances of La bohème . The opening page of the autograph Tosca score, containing the motif that would be associated with Scarpia, is dated January 1898. At Puccini's request, Giacosa irritably provided new lyrics for

9100-479: The world with 540 performances given in the five seasons 2009–10 to 2013–14. By the end of the 19th century the classic form of opera structure, in which arias , duets and other set-piece vocal numbers are interspersed with passages of recitative or dialogue, had been largely abandoned, even in Italy. Operas were " through-composed ", with a continuous stream of music which in some cases eliminated all identifiable set-pieces. In what critic Edward Greenfield calls

9200-662: Was baptized in Cesena two days later on 27 December and was given the baptismal name of Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio. After completing his studies in the Jesuit college of Cesena and receiving his doctorate of both canon and civil law in 1734, Braschi continued his studies at the University of Ferrara . Braschi became the private secretary of papal legate Cardinal Tommaso Ruffo , Bishop of Ostia and Velletri . Cardinal Ruffo took him as his conclavist at

9300-466: Was born in Cesena on Christmas Day in 1717 as the eldest of eight children to Count Marco Aurelio Tommaso Braschi and Anna Teresa Bandi . His siblings were Felice Silvestro, Giulia Francesca, Cornelio Francesco, Maria Olimpia, Anna Maria Costanza, Giuseppe Luigi and Maria Lucia Margherita. His maternal grandmother was Countess Cornelia Zangheri Bandi . His uncle was Cardinal Giovanni Carlo Bandi . He

9400-433: Was embalmed, but was not buried until 30 January 1800 after Napoleon saw political advantage to burying the deceased Pope in efforts to bring the Catholic Church back into France. His entourage insisted for some time that his last wishes were to be buried in Rome, then behind the Austrian lines. They also prevented a Constitutional bishop from presiding at the burial, as the laws of France then required, so no burial service

9500-479: Was equally diligent when writing the music that opens act 3, in which Rome awakens to the sounds of church bells. He journeyed to Rome and went to the Castel Sant'Angelo to measure the sound of matins bells there, as they would be heard from its ramparts. Puccini had bells for the Roman dawn cast to order by four different foundries. This apparently did not have its desired effect, as Illica wrote to Ricordi on

9600-565: Was held. This return of the investiture conflict was settled by the Concordat of 1801 . Pius VI's body was removed from Valence on 24 December 1801 and buried at Rome 19 February 1802, when Pius VI was given a Catholic funeral, attended by Pope Pius VII , his successor. By decree of Pope Pius XII in 1949, the remains of Pius VI were moved to the Chapel of the Madonna below St. Peter's in

9700-466: Was offended by "disconcerting vulgarities". In the 1950s, the young musicologist Joseph Kerman described Tosca as a "shabby little shocker."; in response the conductor Thomas Beecham remarked that anything Kerman says about Puccini "can safely be ignored". Writing half a century after the premiere, the veteran critic Ernest Newman , while acknowledging the "enormously difficult business of boiling [Sardou's] play down for operatic purposes", thought that

9800-433: Was present, with several members of his cabinet. A number of Puccini's operatic rivals were there, including Franchetti, Pietro Mascagni , Francesco Cilea and Ildebrando Pizzetti . Shortly after the curtain was raised there was a disturbance in the back of the theatre, caused by latecomers attempting to enter the auditorium, and a shout of "Bring down the curtain!", at which Mugnone stopped the orchestra. A few moments later

9900-478: Was sent into exile on February 20, 1798. (Pius VI would die in exile in 1799, and his successor, Pius VII , who was elected in Venice on 14 March 1800, would not enter Rome until 3 July. There is thus neither a Pope nor papal government in Rome during the days depicted in the opera). The new republic was ruled by seven consuls ; in the opera this is the office formerly held by Angelotti, whose character may be based on

10000-715: Was taken prisoner, and on 20 February was escorted from the Vatican to Siena , and thence to the Certosa near Florence . The French declaration of war against Tuscany led to his removal (he was escorted by the Spaniard Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador ) by way of Parma , Piacenza , Turin and Grenoble to the citadel of Valence , the chief town of Drôme where he died six weeks after his arrival, on 29 August 1799, having then reigned longer than any pope since Saint Peter . Pius VI's body

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