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Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) first came acrossVictorien Sardou's play La Tosca while it swept Europe'stheaters in the late 1880s, featuring Sarah Bernhardt in the title role. He immediatelythought it most apropos for opera. With a larger-than-life villain, distressedheroine and doomed romantic hero, indeed he was right, but it would take yearsbefore he set about this task. Finally, with the significant triumphs of ManonLescaut and La Bohème under his belt, he took on Tosca.
Premiered in Romein 1900, Tosca was an instant hit with the opera-going public, but thepress was largely scandalized by its raw emotionalism (the most infamous jab,penned by musicologist Joseph Kerman, called Tosca a “shabby littleshocker”). That it assuredly is not. People have flocked to Tosca formore than a century now, thanks to its emotive power and glorious arias (“Vissid'arte,” “Recondita armonia,” “E lucevan le stele”)a deserved devotion showingno sign of slack.
The Florentine Opera presents Puccini's Toscaas the first production of its season. Performances take place at Uihlein Hallon Nov. 20-22.
