<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1YX2Nt_0w7pGJPl00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1YX2Nt_0w7pGJPl00" width="696" height="464" ></figure><p>Toledo Opera takes us to Rome for Puccini’s <i>Tosca</i> Oct. 18 and 20. Set in the summer of 1800 during the Napoleonic wars, at a time when Italy was divided into multiple separate city states, the Kingdom of Naples’ control of Rome is threatened by Napoleon’s invasion of Italy. </p><p>Puccini saw <i>La Tosca</i>, written by French playwright Sardou in 1889 and knew immediately he wanted to make it his next opera. It took some convincing, as Sardou wasn’t a fan of Puccini, who was a relatively new composer. He wanted a French composer, if any, to do the job. Another problem were scenes of torture, murder and suicide in the play that made it controversial. Puccini triumphed, and <i>Tosca</i> premiered in Rome in January of 1900.</p><h2>Lindsey Anderson as Floria Tosca</h2><p><i>Tosca</i> takes place in a 24-hour period and centers around diva opera singer Floria Tosca, her lover Mario Cavaradossi, a painter, and a corrupt Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia. Lindsey Anderson, who lives in Michigan and has previously performed with Toledo Opera in <i>The Ballad of Baby Doe</i>, has been singing professionally for almost 15 years, and those years have given her both the life and vocal experience needed to play the role of opera diva Tosca. </p><p>“I’ve learned a lot along the way and I’m glad to have that experience before taking on the role,” she says. “There so many nuances in the character. I could’ve sung it when I was starting out, but it takes life experience to fully embrace the role and create a natural performance.”</p><h2><b>What’s so controversial about</b> <b><i>Tosca</i></b><b>?</b></h2><p>Anderson addresses the controversy the play and opera caused in its day due to the subject matter and violence. “By today’s standards of ‘True Crime’ TV, the opera wouldn’t be particularly violent, but back in the day it was because generally any violence at all was portrayed off stage. There is a stabbing, a firing squad and a suicide, and two of the three you see in something like <i>West Side Story</i>. Back then, it was a lot,” laughs Anderson, “but the way Puccini wrote the music, those violent acts, while shocking, make the characters so real and human, in a way I’ve not seen done so successfully in any other opera.” </p><p>This is Anderson’s first time in the role which includes a big stunt that we don’t want to spoil. Needless to say, after Tosca, Anderson can add stunt woman to her growing resume. </p><h2>Action and emotion</h2><p>When talking about how she prepares for the role, Anderson says she translates the score and then works on the rhythm of the text in spoken word so that it becomes natural when she sings it. Of course, this makes sense when you’re singing in a second language. Says Anderson, “When I’m fully ready to sing a role, it should feel as natural as singing “Happy Birthday,” because you don’t have to over-think it.”</p><p>After personal preparation there’s another layer of work — meeting with the director and other actors who also have their ideas about the overall interpretation of the opera. Anderson is an opera singer playing an opera singer in the story, which gives the role an element of “meta” before there was such a thing. Since Tosca is the titular character, it’s a demanding role both vocally and dramatically. </p><h2>Anderson’s story overview</h2><p>“Tosca is an opera singer in love with Mario Cavaradossi, a painter in a church. There’s a beautiful love duet between them when they meet. She’s a very passionate woman, and very jealous. When she sees his painting has a beautiful blonde woman in it she asks who the woman is. He tells her it’s a depiction of the Madonna but the model is a woman who comes to pray in the church, so Tosca becomes obsessed that he may have a romantic interest in her. </p><p>“That sets the stage for Scarpia to cause trouble between the two lovers by encouraging her jealous thoughts. Scarpia wants Tosca for himself, and when Cavaradossi helps a political escapee hide from the authorities, he becomes an easy target for Scarpia to imprison him. Tosca can save him, but the price is giving herself to Scarpia for a night. You’ll have to see the opera to find out how it all ends! All three characters have immense dramatic singing, but it really is about Tosca’s relationships with the two men that brings the story together so beautifully.” </p><p><i>Get tickets to see Toledo Opera’s</i> Tosca <i>Oct. 18 and 20, 2024, at The Valentine Theater.</i> <i>toledoopera.org/upcoming-performances/season-event/tosca</i></p></div></body>

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Leading Lady Lindsey Anderson on Puccini’s Political Thriller Opera “Tosca”

Toledo Opera takes us to Rome for Puccini’s Tosca Oct. 18 and 20. Set in the summer of 1800 during the Napoleonic wars, at a time when Italy was divided into multiple separate city states, the Kingdom of Naples’ control of Rome is threatened by Napoleon’s invasion of Italy.