Giacomo Puccini: Tosca

by Mosco Carner

Overview

This book is intended primarily as a guide for the opera goer. It includes a synopsis of the plot, with indications of the themes and motifs used in it, and discusses the style of the opera, Tosca being a typical example of Italian naturalism in operas, verismo. It compares Puccini's libretto with Sardou's play La Tosca, analyses the close-knit structure of the work and examines salient points in the music. It also describes the genesis of the work (quoting wherever appropriate, Puccini's own remarks about it), its first production and early reception. A subsidiary aim of the book is to present the opinions, positive and negative, that have been expressed by various critics about the opera since its first production in 1900. There are contributions from the celebrated singer and producer of Tosca Tito Gobbi, and two other musicologists, Roger Parker and William Ashbrook. Malcolm Walker has provided a discography.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521296618
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/05/1985
Series:	Cambridge Opera Handbooks
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.55(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.94(d)

Table of Contents

General preface; List of illustrations; 1. Sardou and his La Tosca; 2. Naturalism in opera: verismo; 3. Genesis of Tosca; 4. Synopsis; 5. Play and opera: a comparison; 6. First production and critical history; 7. Interpretation: some reflections Tito Gobbi; 8. Style and technique; 9. Musical and dramatic structure; 10. Analysis: Act I in perspective Roger Parker; 11. Tosca in the United States William Ashbrook; Notes; Select bibliography; Discography Malcolm Walker; Index.