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Palo Alto Online

The Passion of Puccini

by Sue Dremann

A glorious diva, a painter with strong political convictions, and one of opera's most ruthless villains converge in a story of great love and passion in Giacomo Puccini's opera, "Tosca."

West Bay Opera's performance of the tragic opus kicks off the new season at the Lucie Stern Theatre tonight and runs through Oct. 20. Brilliant music and dramatic action make "Tosca" an outstanding opera of the Italian school.

"What makes 'Tosca' so great is that in this grand opera and tragedy, the characters are larger than life, but are completely believable as human beings," said Kenneth Tigar, director of West Bay's production.

Set in Rome in 1800, the story centers on Floria Tosca, a beautiful woman of great passion and jealousy. Her tragic love affair with Mario Cavaradossi is set against a time of great political turmoil in Rome, when the Italian city-states are being invaded by Napoleon's forces for the second time. Another historical figure is the King of Naples, who is also trying to overthrow Rome.

The plot of "Tosca" thickens when Cavaradossi assists an escaped political prisoner, an act that brings him into the power of Scarpia, the evil police chief and a corrupt enforcer of the Neapolitan king's regime. Scarpia is driven to possess Tosca. And as Napoleon bears down toward Rome, Tosca must submit to Scarpia or see her lover die.

In a certain sense, West Bay Opera's production of"Tosca" is, according to Tigar, timely with our current circumstances, but it doesn't put contemporary politics into it.

"If people can look at "Tosca" and look at the values of standing up for one's principles and the value of love, then it is a story relevant to our time. And we are being tested now," Tigar said.

"'Tosca' is seeing people react truly and heroically in difficult circumstances that test them. Often when people do heroic things, they say, 'It was the only thing I could do.' I think that there is enough grandeur in most people so that they can see it in art."

In the midst of the opera's political drama, there is an enormous amount of romantic music. Puccini came from a family of church musicians, and he relies on some of that legacy in 'Tosca', Tigar said. The first act ends with an enormous Te Deum ) a traditional hymn of joy and thanks) to celebrate Napoleon's first defeat. It is, Tigar said, the piece that moves him the most in the opera.

Tigar is also enthralled by the cast.

"We have two unbelievable Toscas (Tracy Salifiendic and Julie Kierstine). It's a privilege to be in the same room while they're singing," he said.

The cast is rounded out by Kenneth Morris (Cavaradossi), who has sung at the New York Metropolitan Opera. Scott Bearden, who played Marcello last season in West Bay's "La Boheme," appears as Scarpia.

The opera originated as a play entitled "La Tosca," which was written by the French dramatist Victorien Sardou. He wrote the work in the 1880s for the famed actress Sarah Bernhardt, basing it on historical events that had occurred only 70 or 80 years earlier.

Puccini later turned it into an opera in 1900. Of concern to him were the political issues facing his young native country. The unification of Italy had occurred in 1848, but tremendous political upheaval in Europe was still ongoing during the writing of "Tosca."

All three of the opera's acts are set in historical places in Rome: the Church of San Andrea della Valle, the Palazzo Farnese and the Castel Sant' Angelo, the site of a notorious prison.

Tigar is no stranger to West Bay Opera, having previously directed "Tartuffe" and "La Boheme" for West Bay Opera at the request of General Director David Sloss, who is also "Tosca"'s music director. He has also worked in film, television and the theater.

Without elaborating, Tigar said he's done some things with "Tosca" that nobody's ever seen before. He was keen to understand the opera's political situation, he said, as well as to explore the lusty relationship that drives Scarpia.

"Scarpia is seen as a man with needs, which makes him even more chilling, he said.

Above all, Tigar endeavored to emphasize the narrative that drives Puccini's dark opus.

"When you see opera, so often it's grand bodies singing. Most of the time it doesn't tell a story. It doesn't tell about people. What I try to do as a director is to bring the people into it," Tigar said.

"Opera is about feeling. Why are you feeling angry? Why are you in love? Because someone did or said something that turns you on in a specific way. That specificity is what theater is about."

What: "Tosca," by Giacomo Puccini, presented by West Bay Opera. In Italian with English supertitles, with two casts.

Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto.

When: Oct. 11-13 and Oct. 18-20. Show times are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Cost: Tickets are $42, with a special $19 youth ticket for those under 18 for Sunday matinees only.

Info: Call (650) 424-9999 Monday through Friday from 1-6 p.m. or visit www.wbopera.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Holt Building, 221 Lambert Ave. in Palo Alto.