Tosca's Rome: The Play and the Opera in Historical Perspective - Softcover

Nicassio, Susan Vandiver

 
9780226579726: Tosca's Rome: The Play and the Opera in Historical Perspective
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0226579727 ISBN 13: 9780226579726
Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2002

Synopsis

A timeless tale of love, lust, and politics, "Tosca" is one of the most popular operas ever written. In "Tosca's Rome," Susan Vandiver Nicassio explores the surprising historical realities that lie behind Giacomo Puccini's opera and the play by Victorien Sardou on which it is based. By far the most "historical" opera in the active repertoire, " Tosca" is set in a very specific time and place: Rome, from June 17 to 18, 1800. But as Nicassio demonstrates, history in "Tosca" is distorted by nationalism and by the vehement anticlerical perceptions of papal Rome shared by Sardou, Puccini, and the librettists. To provide the historical background necessary for understanding "Tosca," Nicassio takes a detailed look at Rome in 1800 as each of "Tosca"'s main characters would have seen it - the painter Cavaradossi, the singer Tosca, and the policeman Scarpia. Finally, she provides a scene-by-scene musical and dramatic analysis of the opera.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Susan Vandiver Nicassio is professor of history at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She is the author of many books, including Tosca's Rome, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

From the Back Cover

In Tosca's Rome, Susan Vandiver Nicassio explores the surprising historical realities that lie behind Giacomo Puccini's immortal opera, Tosca-a timeless tale of love, lust, and politics. For this paperback edition, Nicassio has added an appendix analyzing recently discovered working papers for the libretto.

From the Inside Flap

In Tosca's Rome, Susan Vandiver Nicassio explores the surprising historical realities that lie behind Giacomo Puccini's immortal opera, Tosca-a timeless tale of love, lust, and politics. For this paperback edition, Nicassio has added an appendix analyzing recently discovered working papers for the libretto.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Publication date
2002
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0226579727
ISBN 13 
9780226579726
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
366

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780226579719: Tosca′s Rome – The Play and the Opera in Historical Perspective

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0226579719 ISBN 13:  9780226579719
Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1999
Hardcover