antonio scotti, exponent of role of scarpia
the milan premiere @ la scala took place under toscanini on 17 march 1900. darclée , giraldoni reprised roles; prominent tenor giuseppe borgatti replaced de marchi cavaradossi. opera great success @ la scala, , played full houses. puccini travelled london british premiere @ royal opera house, covent garden, on 12 july, milka ternina , fernando de lucia doomed lovers , antonio scotti scarpia. puccini wrote tosca [a] complete triumph , , ricordi s london representative signed contract take tosca new york. premiere @ metropolitan opera on 4 february 1901, de lucia s replacement giuseppe cremonini change london cast. french premiere @ opéra-comique on 13 october 1903, 72-year-old sardou took charge of action on stage. puccini delighted public s reception of work in paris, despite adverse comments critics. opera subsequently premiered @ venues throughout europe, americas, australia , far east; outbreak of war in 1914 had been performed in more 50 cities worldwide.
among prominent toscas emmy destinn, sang role regularly in long-standing partnership tenor enrico caruso. maria jeritza, on many years @ met , in vienna, brought own distinctive style role, , said puccini s favorite tosca. jeritza first deliver vissi d arte prone position, having fallen stage while eluding grasp of scarpia. great success, , jeritza sang aria while on floor thereafter. of successors, opera enthusiasts tend consider maria callas supreme interpreter of role, largely on basis of performances @ royal opera house in 1964, tito gobbi scarpia. production, franco zeffirelli, remained in continuous use @ covent garden more 40 years until replaced in 2006 new staging, premiered angela gheorghiu. callas had first sung tosca @ age 18 in performance given in greek, in athens on 27 august 1942. tosca last on-stage operatic role, in special charity performance @ royal opera house on 7 may 1965.
among non-traditional productions, luca ronconi, in 1996 @ la scala, used distorted , fractured scenery represent twists of fate reflected in plot. jonathan miller, in 1986 production 49th maggio musicale fiorentino, transferred action nazi-occupied rome in 1944, scarpia head of fascist police. in philipp himmelmann s production on lake stage @ bregenz festival in 2007 act 1 set, designed johannes leiacker, dominated huge orwellian big brother eye. iris opens , closes reveal surreal scenes beyond action. production updates story modern mafia scenario, special effects worthy of bond film .
roberto alagna cavaradossi, royal opera house, 2014
in 1992 television version of opera filmed @ locations prescribed puccini, @ times of day @ each act takes place. featuring catherine malfitano, plácido domingo , ruggero raimondi, performance broadcast live throughout europe. luciano pavarotti, sang cavaradossi late 1970s, appeared in special performance in rome, placido domingo conductor, on 14 january 2000, celebrate opera s centenary. pavarotti s last stage performance cavaradossi @ met, on 13 march 2004.
early cavaradossis played part if painter believed reprieved, , survive mock execution. beniamino gigli, performed role many times in forty-year operatic career, 1 of first assume painter knows, or suspects, shot. gigli wrote in autobiography: these last moments on earth, , die . domingo, dominant cavaradossi of 1970s , 1980s, concurred, stating in 1985 interview had long played part way. gobbi, in later years directed opera, commented, unlike floria, cavaradossi knows scarpia never yields, though pretends believe in order delay pain tosca.
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