TOSCA: Canadian opera star Adrianne Pieczonka gives a captivating performance as Tosca. (Cory Weaver)
“Summer Seduction.” The season opened on June 2 with three hugely popular productions—Puccini’s “Tosca,” Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” and Verdi’s “La Traviata.”
The intensely emotional melodrama “Tosca” is forever linked with the history of San Francisco Opera as well as that of the city itself. It was conducted by San Francisco Opera founder Gaetano Merola in the company’s inaugural season in 1923, and also marked the opening of the company’s current home, the War Memorial Opera House in 1932.
The November 1978 performance of “Tosca” featuring perhaps two of the greatest stars of opera of all time—Montserrat Caballé and Luciano Pavarotti—was attended by San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk the night before his assassination.
Based on a drama by Victorien Sardou, “Tosca” depicts the life of famous singer Floria Tosca as she makes a desperate attempt to save the life of her lover, Mario Cavaradossi, who awaits execution for the crime of harboring a fugitive. The all-powerful police chief Scarpia, however, agrees to stage the execution in order to give the semblance that justice has been carried out, but demands Tosca’s love in exchange for her Cavaradossi’s life.
Tosca appears to succumb to Scarpia’s advances after obtaining a written safe-passage permit from him, but fatally stabs him as he prepares to embrace her. She then quickly flees the scene and instructs Cavaradossi to pretend to die after the first shot has been fired at what she believes will be a mock execution.
But everything goes terribly wrong.
Scarpia had never intended to spare Cavaradossi’s life, and the fake execution plot was a lie so he could have his way with the singer. Now being pursued for having killed Scarpia, Tosca leaps off the wall of the castle moments after Cavaradossi’s execution, and falls to her death.
Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka gave a poignant performance in the title role. She perhaps achieved her brightest moment in “Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore” (“I Lived on Art, I Lived on Love”) in Act 2, where Tosca asks God why she is subjected to such cruelty when she has dedicated her life to her art and to piety.
Matching Pieczonka’s brilliant Tosca, Italian tenor Carlo Ventre demonstrated equally impressive skill and control as the voice of Cavaradossi. Ventre communicated remarkably sincere emotion as he sang the words “Non ho mai tanto amato la vita” (“Never Have I Loved Life So Much”) in Cavaradossi’s heartbreaking love letter to Tosca before his execution.
Georgian bass-baritone Lado Ataneli was powerful and convincing as the story’s antagonist Scarpia.
Thierry Bosquet’s elaborately detailed sets, Maestro Marco Armiliato’s rich rendition, and Jose Maria Condmi’s thoughtful direction made this "Tosca" into yet another production San Francisco will remember among its proudest operatic moments.
Eman Isadiar teaches piano at the Peninsula Conservatory and writes about music in the San Francisco Bay Area.
