On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the death of Giacomo Puccini (Lucca 1858 – Brussels 1924), the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia will inaugurate the 2024-2025 symphonic season with the three-act opera Tosca on Monday, October 21 at 8:30 PM, with repeat performances on Thursday, October 24 at 7:30 PM and Saturday, October 26 at 6:00 PM. The opening concert will mark not only Daniel Harding’s official debut as the new Music Director of the Orchestra and Choir of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, but also his first time conducting this opera. With the performance of Tosca, the Accademia and Daniel Harding aim to pay tribute to the city of Rome and also continue the legacy of the work done by Director Emeritus Sir Antonio Pappano, who on multiple occasions during his 18 years as Music Director opened symphonic seasons with operatic masterpieces.
“It is a message of Roman identity,” said the new Director Harding, “and also a desire to follow in the footsteps of my predecessor at Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano, who conducted several operas in concert form.”
It will also be a first for the Accademia, as Tosca has not previously been featured in its program, although it was recorded twice with Renata Tebaldi (in 1951 conducted by Alberto Erede with Giuseppe Campora and Enzo Mascherini, and in 1959 with Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Mario del Monaco, and George London) and again in 1966 with Birgitt Nilsson, Franco Corelli, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and conducted by Lorin Maazel. Additionally, the late October performance will be recorded by Deutsche Grammophon and will mark the beginning of a multi-year collaboration with the renowned label.
The cast will include Eleonora Buratto, who debuted in the role of Tosca on May 20 at the Bavarian State Opera, joined by American tenor Jonathan Tetelman (Cavaradossi), French baritone Ludovic Tézier as the villainous Scarpia, and Giorgi Manoshvili (Cesare Angelotti). Speaking about her recent debut as Tosca, the Mantuan soprano commented: “What fascinates me most about the character of Tosca is her courage, both when she kills Scarpia and when she decides to throw herself from Castel Sant’Angelo. She is an artist but above all a woman driven by her passions and by love. I love the entire opera. Tosca is Puccini at his most powerful.”
The libretto of Tosca, written by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, was adapted from the play of the same name by playwright Victorien Sardou, which Puccini saw performed by Sarah Bernhardt. The tale of love and death between Tosca and Cavaradossi, the eroticism and sadism, the torture, the interrogations, the execution, the grand-opéra elements such as the Act I finale with the Te Deum procession, the attention to the Roman setting in the early 19th century, the orchestration filled with powerful effects, the use of leitmotifs, not to mention the two famous arias “Vissi d’arte” and “E lucevan le stelle,” have contributed to the enduring success of this opera, one of Puccini’s most beloved works.
Puccini worked on the composition of Tosca between 1896 and 1899, and the first performance took place on January 14, 1900, at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome, effectively inaugurating the new century.
Donal Cantonetti