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• Performance
• Opera
• Turn of the Century

Stories of chaotic and bungled performances of Tosca abound, but there are two in particular that have become legendary. The first concerns a production in New York in 1960. The prima donna singing the title role had, through her various demands and irascibility, made herself unpopular with everyone – so much so, in fact, that the ...

• Major Operas
• Opera
• Turn of the Century

In Tosca, Puccini created his most complex and challenging of female roles and it is partly for this reason that the work has gained such a central place in the public consciousness. The role has been a magnet to sopranos wishing to demonstrate not only their vocal abilities, but also their acting skills. Victorien Sardou’s play La Tosca first ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Composer
• Late Romantic

(Ja’-ko’mo Poot-che’-ne) 1858–1924 Italian composer Puccini wrote 12 operas, three of which rank among the most popular in the world: La bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. The composer came from a long line of musicians. His great-great-grandfather, the first Giacomo Puccini (1712–81), was organist and choirmaster at the cathedral of S Martino in the Tuscan town of Lucca. His ...

• Personalities
• Opera
• Turn of the Century

seen as Italy’s pre-eminent playwright and his presence smoothed the way between Puccini and Illica. The results of this collaboration were Puccini’s most cherished operas: La bohème (‘The Bohemian Life’), Tosca and Madama Butterfly. With Giacosa’s death in 1906, Puccini’s work – which was never fast at the best of times – foundered. A subject was eventually found and La ...

• Personalities
• Opera
• Turn of the Century

Giacosa’s responsibility to take the detailed scenario worked out by Illica and turn it into refined verse. The three men produced the three best-loved of Puccini’s operas: La bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. Giacosa supported himself through teaching until the 1890s when his growing success enabled him to concentrate purely on writing. Even before this, though, he was ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Contemporary Classical
• Singer

b. 1969 German tenor Kaufmann trained in Munich and was engaged at various German opera houses before making his international debut at the Chicago Lyric (2001), followed quickly by appearances at the Paris Opéra and La Scala, Milan. He has sung not only the major Italian tenor roles – such as Verdi’s Don Carlo, Alfredo (La traviata), Cavaradossi (Puccini’s ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Contemporary Classical
• Singer

b. 1946 Spanish tenor Carreras was born and studied in Barcelona. He also made his professional debut there in 1970 as Ismaele in Nabucco. He made his London debut in 1971. In 1974 he appeared at Covent Garden as Alfredo in La traviata and at the New York Met as Cavaradossi in Tosca. Leukaemia halted his career for some time, ...

• Personalities
• Modern Era
• Opera

gained entry to Juilliard, where she appeared in George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess and Virgil Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts. When, in 1955, NBC produced Puccini’s Tosca with Price in the title role, she became the first African-American to sing in a televised opera. She also righted the wrong committed when the Daughters of the Revolution ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Contemporary Classical
• Singer

1935–2007 Italian tenor After winning the international competition at the Teatro Reggio Emilia in 1961, Pavarotti made his debut there as Rodolfo (La bohème), the role of his Covent Garden debut in 1963. In 1964 he sang Idamante (Idomeneo) at Glyndebourne. His many roles at Covent Garden included Tonio in La fille du régiment (‘The Daughter of the Regiment’), Verdi’s ...

• Personalities
• Opera
• Turn of the Century

Most significant was his work with Puccini. Although they had a tempestuous relationship, it resulted in Manon Lescaut and, in collaboration with Giuseppe Giacosa, La bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. Illica’s work, though perhaps not of the highest literary order, shows great awareness of theatre and its needs. His ability to shape action and character ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Modern Era
• Singer

1923–77 American soprano Callas left the US for Greece in 1937, and made her debut as Tosca in Athens in 1942. Her early post-war repertory included Wagner’s Brünnhilde and Isolde, but under the guidance of Serafin she concentrated on the Italian repertory. She was a singing actress of great power who made an indelible impression as Bellini’s Norma, ...

• Personalities
• Modern Era
• Opera

1923–77, American-Greek Known as ‘La Divina’ (The Divine One), soprano Callas was regarded as the greatest singing actress of the twentieth century. She revitalized forgotten operas and her delivery combined technical precision with dramatic intensity. Born in New York City, Callas’s family returned to Greece when she was 13. She made her debut in Athens at the age of ...

• Personalities
• Modern Era
• Opera

Strauss. She also sang Marietta in Korngold’s Die tote Stadt and the title role in Janáček’s Jenůfa, and performed at the Met between 1921 and 1932, where her Tosca was renowned. Whereas Jeritza’s feminine allure proved irresistible to many of her conductors, composers and collaborators, her artistic temperament, perfectly suited to verismo roles, was usually ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Modern Era
• Singer

1922–2004 Italian soprano Tebaldi sang regularly at La Scala, Milan 1949–54. She made her debut with the Covent Garden company as Tosca in 1955; in the same year she joined the Metropolitan Opera. She also appeared in San Francisco, Chicago and South America. A powerful soprano, her roles included Aida, Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur and Catalani’s La Wally. ...

• Personalities
• Modern Era
• Opera

year, and he became popular in London for his interpretations of Verdi roles such as Rigoletto and Iago. His most memorable partnerships were with reigning diva Maria Callas; her Tosca and his Scarpia became part of opera lore. Introduction | Modern Era | Opera Personalities | Elisabeth Grümmer | Modern Era | Opera Houses & Companies | La Scala, ...