Line #45 Theatre/Tosca


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tosca_2_2841.jpg]]
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3	''Tosca'' is an {{opera}} by Italian composer Music/GiacomoPuccini, based on a play by Victorien Sardou. It is often cited as an operatic version of ''Grand Guignol'' horror-melodrama, the forerunner of today's splatter movies.
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5	On the eve of UsefulNotes/{{Napoleon\|Bonaparte}}'s occupation of Rome, the painter Mario Cavaradossi hides his friend, escaped political prisoner Cesare Angelotti, from the police. Unfortunately this brings both him and his sweetheart, the singer Floria Tosca, to the attention of the villainous chief of police Scarpia. Scarpia arrests Cavaradossi and demands that [[ScarpiaUltimatum Tosca spend the night with him]], then the painter's execution will be fake, and the lovers will be able to leave Rome. Tosca agrees, but when Scarpia comes to embrace her, she stabs him in the heart with a knife. Unfortunately, Scarpia did not intend to release Cavaradossi at all, and the execution turns out to be real. Seeing her lover dead and Scarpia's henchmen running to get her, Tosca [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled leaps off the parapet]] of the Castel Sant'Angelo, crying that she will meet Scarpia before God.
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7	Oh, and did we mention that poor Angelotti [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled commits suicide]] somewhere in the middle of the second act? This gets us ''four'' dead people by the end of the opera.
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9	Yeah. Opera really is [[TrueArtIsAngsty angsty]] business, folks.
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11	''Tosca'' is the {{Trope Namer\|s}} for ScarpiaUltimatum
12	----
13	!!Tropes featured include:
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15	* AllForNothing: In order: Cavaradossi's efforts to protect and hide Angelotti, even while being brutally tortured, are undone by Tosca being pressured into revealing Angelotti's location. Her unwilling betrayal of Cavaradossi's trust is then made worthless by Cavaradossi mocking Scarpia about Napoleon's victory, sealing his fate. Napoleon’s victory also renders the risk that Angelotti took meaningless, as Angelotti was jailed for leading a puppet government for the French which will be restored within days; if he'd just stayed put for a little while longer, he would have been freed anyway. Meanwhile, the very government that Scarpia works for will soon be made defunct as the French take over, and Angelotti kills himself rather than be captured again, rendering the whole affair pointless. And Tosca's daring murder of Scarpia achieves nothing, as he lied and Cavaradossi is ''still'' executed by firing squad. Broken and about to be arrested for killing Scarpia, Tosca has nothing left but suicide.
16	* AristocratsAreEvil: Baron Scarpia against the cavalier Cavaradossi and the commoner Tosca.
17	* AssholeVictim: Scarpia dies after being stabbed by Tosca with a dinner knife. Aside from his men, no one will mourn the nefarious and corrupt chief of the police.
18	* TheBadGuyWins: Even when he's dead.
19	* BadLiar: Tosca does her best to claim that Cavaradossi was alone when she found him at the villa, but Scarpia riles her into being far too defensive and unconvincing.
20	* BeatenByAGirl: After Tosca stabs Scarpia, she stands over him and gloats that the feared chief of police was killed by a woman.
21	* BetterToDieThanBeKilled[=/=]DrivenToSuicide: Tosca leaps off a parapet at the very end of the opera. Angelotti kills himself off-stage rather than go back to prison.
22	* BreakTheCutie: The universe really, ''really'' has it in for poor Tosca.
23	* BSODSong:
24	** Cavaradossi's ''E lucevan le stelle''.
25	** Tosca's ''Vissi d'arte''.
26	* CannotTellALie: The reason for why Cavaradossi doesn't let Tosca in on his plan to protect Angelotti; she naturally tells everything to her confessor.
27	* CardCarryingVillain: Scarpia isn't shy to admit that what he does is evil, showing sadistic pleasure in the process. He even thinks of himself as [[Theatre/{{Othello}} Iago]].
28	* CastingGag: Scarpia comparing himself to Iago is especially funny because most performers who sing Scarpia also sing Iago in Verdi's ''Otello'' (while the Cavaradossis usually are familiar with the role of Otello and the Toscas with the role of Desdemona).
29	* ChurchgoingVillain: Scarpia is one. He considers himself a devout Catholic and ends his EvilGloating monologue in the ''Te Deum'' scene by suddenly remembering he's in church, crying out "Tosca, you make me forget God!" and joining in the hymn with sincere devotion. If the singer playing Scarpia is an effective actor, this moment should come off as horrific ''even if you know the story''.
30	* ClingyJealousGirl: Tosca's jealousy seems to be as well-known as her singing voice.
31	* ColdBloodedTorture: Cavaradossi gets this from Scarpia's goons, while Tosca is [[ForcedToWatch made to listen to his screams]].
32	* DiesWideOpen: Although the stage directions do not necessarily call for Scarpia to die with his eyes open, Cornell [=MacNeil=] "died" in just that manner in the Zeffirelli production at the Met in 1985.
33	* DirtyOldMan: In some versions Scarpia is a man in his 50s-60s who lusts after Tosca, a woman in her 30s and sometimes even younger.
34	* DownerEnding: Scarpia, Tosca and Cavaradossi all end up dead by the end.
35	* TheDragon: Spoletta to Scarpia.
36	* TheDreaded: All of Rome trembles in fear before Scarpia.
37	* DueToTheDead:
38	** When Scarpia hears of Angelotti's suicide, he orders his men to hang his body from the gallows anyway.
39	** After Tosca kills Scarpia, she lights two candles for him and places a cross on his body.
40	* DuringTheWar: UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars, to be specific. The outcome of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marengo Battle of Marengo]] is a plot point.
41	* EvilReactionary: Scarpia is a police chief trying to oppress the revolutionaries who were creating a republic, in the name of the status quo.
42	* EvilSoundsDeep: Scarpia, the villainous chief of police, is a baritone. Sometimes he's played by a ''basso cantante''. One of the best-known early Scarpias was Antonio Scotti, who was one of these.
43	* ExactWords: With Tosca watching, Scarpia instructs an underling that Cavaradossi's execution is to be faked "like Palmieri's was". We never get any further details about Palmieri, but the implication is that Palmieri's death was just as real as Cavaradossi's turns out to be.
44	* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The entire opera takes place in the afternoon, evening, and early morning of 17 and 18 June 1800.
45	* FauxAffablyEvil: Scarpia remains eloquent and polite even as he tries to pull a ScarpiaUltimatum.
46	* ForcedToWatch: Tosca is made to listen to Cavaradossi being tortured. In [[https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/revival-of-the-fittest/ one modern-dress production]], Scarpia shows her the torture via livestream.
47	* TheGhost: Angelotti's sister, who helps him evade the authorities and is subsequently suspected by Tosca of being Cavaradossi's other woman, is mentioned a lot in the first act, we see her picture, but she never actually appears.
48	* GorgeousPeriodDress: For Tosca in most productions, especially her Act II dress. Here are some examples:
49	** [[https://live.staticflickr.com/1568/24286733866_9909f9b54e_b.jpg Angela Gheorghiu]]
50	** [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OstKcddup0s/TtkJkIjyZlI/AAAAAAAACN4/NtgZhEQig1Y/s1600/CallasTosca.jpg Maria Callas]]
51	** [[https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A198526/datastream/IMAGE/view Leontyne Price]]
52	* GoodBadGirl: Tosca
53	* HidingBehindReligion: Scarpia. Contrast with Tosca's sincere faith.
54	* HopeSpot:
55	** Right before the "fake" execution, Tosca and Cavaradossi playfully tease each other and make plans about their happy future together. This can depend on the production. In some stagings, Cavaradossi's expression and body language imply that he knows he will be killed and is putting on an act to cheer up Tosca.[[note]]Beniamino Gigli was one of the first Cavaradossis to play it this way, and Placido Domingo has stated in interviews he always played it this way too. [[https://youtu.be/p3McP88FGHo?t=100 Tito Gobbi]], who can be considered the world's foremost authority on this opera, having produced and directed it and played Scarpia probably thousands of times, confirmed that Mario knows Scarpia well enough to be aware he's about to die.[[/note]]
56	** In the second act, after ''Vissi d'arte'', Scarpia behaves as if he's moved by Tosca's pleading… [[BaitTheDog for about ten seconds]].
57	* IncrediblyLongNote: "Vittoria! ''Vitto.....ria!''" Tenors use this moment to show off and get into the Guinness Book of World Records[[note]]A reviewer for the ''New York Times'' actually said this about a Placido Domingo performance in 1976[[/note]]. Franco Corelli, Placido Domingo and Giuseppe di Stefano (among others) were notorious for this. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tXM5yhqY4U Corelli could hold out so long]] that Tito Gobbi as Scarpia used to shake his head and walk slowly over to stage left. Some conductors halt the orchestra for audience applause, others proceed as normal.
58	* INeedAFreakingDrink: As Scarpia writes the letter of safe conduct before he can have his way with Tosca, the libretto calls for her to chug the glass of wine he poured for her earlier, to help her endure what's to follow. And in doing so, she spots the knife...
59	* IrrelevantActOpener: The shepherd in Act III.
60	* LyricalDissonance: Scarpia has all these gorgeously melodic tunes. He's singing about his plots to rape Tosca, kill Cavaradossi, and generally be as nasty as possible. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OybPHZN8P3E This all happens while he's in a church, with the congregation singing the "Te Deum"]] right behind him. His second VillainSong, ''Ha più forte sapore'', in which he sings about how he likes to win women by force, is also quite lovely to hear.
61	* MoralMyopia: Scarpia. Celebrating loudly (the choirboys) and/or swearing in church? (Floria, ''"lo giuro!"'') Scandalous! Planning murder and rape ''while still in church''? Perfectly all right.
62	* MsFanservice: Floria Tosca herself in some productions. See [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2f/0c/ac/2f0cac22c94bbb4a9e1c70d137773bb2.jpg Angela Gheorghiu]], [[https://tnimage.taiwannews.com.tw/photos/shares/AP/20171230/0e9d74cec7d5434387cd15232dd034e1.jpg Sonya Yoncheva]], [[http://www.stagewhispers.com.au/sites/default/files/imagecache/lightbox/gallery/DSC_1007.JPG Ainhoa Arteta]], [[http://www.theoperablog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/resizedTosca-images-by-Prudence-Upton-019.jpg Alexia Voulgaridou]], and [[https://static.standard.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2019/06/04/09/2864ashm-0742-Terfel-as-Scarpia-Opolais-as-Tosca-(c)-ROH-2019-photograph-by-C-Ashmore.jpg?width=1368&height=912&fit=bounds&format=pjpg&auto=webp&quality=70 Kristine Opolais]]'s versions.
63	* MultitaskedConversation: See ExactWords.
64	* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Scarpia towards Tosca, so very often.
65	* NotWhatItLooksLike: Tosca spends most of the first act convinced that Cavaradossi is cheating on her, because he won't tell her about Angelotti.
66	* OminousLatinChanting: The "Te Deum" underscoring Scarpia's VillainSong.
67	* PoorCommunicationKills: Cavaradossi is hiding Cesare Angelotti from the authorities. Tosca finds a fan, dropped by Angelotti's sister when hiding food and clothes, and immediately assumes Cavaradossi is cheating on her. If Cavaradossi had told Tosca the truth about Angelotti right from the start they might have been able to throw Scarpia off the scent, although he has a point that Tosca always tells everything to her confessor.
68	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Scarpia claims he has no skill in wooing women in the conventional manner, and little interest in them once he has made use of them. He is however turned on when they hate him and resist him.
69	* RashEquilibrium: Scarpia doesn't actually pardon Cavaradossi, as he promised Tosca; Tosca kills Scarpia rather than sleep with him as she promised in order to get the pardon.
70	* {{Sadist}}:
71	** Scarpia admits that he takes pleasure in forcing a woman to do his bidding. The torture sequence is also a valid proof of that.
72	** Spoletta has a single line in which he looks forward to whipping Cavaradossi.
73	* SarcasticClapping: When Tosca furiously asks how Scarpia can laugh at her torment and he replies "Tosca was never this tragic on the stage!", singers playing Scarpia often give a mocking round of applause. In some productions, he also applauds her after ''Vissi d'arte'' (which often adds an extra bit of dark humour, since whoever's playing Tosca will almost always have gotten a thunderous round of ''sincere'' applause from the audience just beforehand).
74	* ScarpiaUltimatum: The TropeNamer. Scarpia tells Tosca that he'll pardon Cavaradossi if she sleeps with him. He's lying, of course.
75	* SceneryPorn: [[https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/12/31/arts/31tosca43/31tosca43-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale Sant'Andrea della Valle]], [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/62/11/fc/6211fc6c5d909705e3a8584f22a8554d.jpg the Farnese Palace]] and [[http://operachic.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/01/16/set_blue_orange.jpg the Castel Sant'Angelo]]; Puccini seems determined to prove that there's no place more beautiful than Rome for a story of torture, murder, and suicide. And most sets seem to replicate the splendor of those places. This is especially true for the Zeffirelli production at the Met in 1985. And Sir David [=McVicar=]'s 2018 production is celebrated for the beauty of its [[https://youtu.be/G7JGeTKWeHQ meticulously detailed, historically accurate sets]] ([[https://wwd.com/eye/people/john-macfarlane-tosca-rome-set-designer-met-opera-11082289/ designed by]] John [=MacFarlane=]).
76	* SeeYouInHell: Kind of — just before jumping off the parapet, Tosca cries that she'll next be meeting Scarpia before God, with the implication that they'll both be answering for their crimes.
77	* ShotAtDawn: Cavaradossi's execution.
78	* SmiteMeOMightySmiter: Tosca has a moment of this in act 2 after Scarpia demands that she has sex with him.
79	* [[ShoutOut/ToShakespeare Shout Out: To Shakespeare]]: Scarpia compares himself to [[Theatre/{{Othello}} Iago]] in his first scene. You know, just in case you were confused about who the villain here was.
80	* TheSociopath: Scarpia. He lusts after (at least in some versions) the much younger Tosca and plans to force her to unwillingly sleep with him in exchange for her lover's life. Which he will have killed anyway. He's still considered nowadays the most depraved, cruel and despicable villain in the Opera universe.
81	* StagedShooting: Cavaradossi's firing squad is a subversion -- Scarpia tells Tosca that the guns will be loaded with blanks, but he pulls a variation on YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo instead.
82	* TenorBoy: Cavaradossi
83	** Cavaradossi is a ''dramatic'' tenor, which takes him out of the "boy" class. It requires [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt_5_Xzrxk8 a fairly strong set of pipes]] to do him justice. [[note]]Franco Corelli is only one example of this kind of long-winded heroics, although set apart by his unique voice. Jussi Bjorling, Carlo Bergonzi, Giuseppe di Stefano and Placido Domingo were also candidates for the Guinness Book of World Records on this.[[/note]]
84	* TheseHandsHaveKilled: This trope gets a whole duet devoted to it.
85	* TogetherInDeath: Tosca throws herself over the ramparts after her lover Cavaradossi gets killed. And in doing so, she calls the name of Scarpia, not her lover.
86	* VillainSong: Scarpia gets one at the end of the first act. And another in the beginning of the second.
87	* WhatBeautifulEyes: Both Cavaradossi and Scarpia mention Floria's dark eyes with admiration.
88	* WhiteShirtOfDeath: Cavaradossi in the third act.

Context Theatre / Tosca