Giacomo Puccini: Tosca

Cambridge Opera Handbooks

by Mosco Carner

This book is intended primarily as a guide for the opera goer. It includes a synopsis of the plot, with indications of the themes and motifs used in it, and discusses the style of the opera, Tosca being a typical example of Italian naturalism in operas, verismo. It compares Puccini's libretto with Sardou's play La Tosca, analyses the close-knit structure of the work and examines salient points in the music. It also describes the genesis of the work (quoting wherever appropriate, Puccini's own remarks about it), its first production and early reception. A subsidiary aim of the book is to present the opinions, positive and negative, that have been expressed by various critics about the opera since its first production in 1900. There are contributions from the celebrated singer and producer of Tosca Tito Gobbi, and two other musicologists, Roger Parker and William Ashbrook. Malcolm Walker has provided a discography.

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Milan Perišić · Rating 4 out of 5]

A somewhat lackluster work of Carner, strangely, quoted many times in the works of his colleagues as some kind of a masterpiece, but still of a comprehensive content which does not suffer from excessive intellectualization.

[Caterina Santarelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

figo

[★ray's bookshelf★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tosca was my first opera and it was a really beautiful and amazing experience.

[Paco · Rating 5 out of 5]

3 Michelin stars. Outstanding piece. Thank you, Giacomo.