Introduction
The music industry may face different views depending on societies and cultures. The social context of its presentation to the audience is always the best tool for a musician to exploit. Music may be seen as the creation of composed performances through genres and subgenres. In any music, presentation sound may not be a must but how it is presented to the audience is the biggest point to note. This is because any production will face the judgment of the audience but not the presenter. Controlling the stage and the auditory art must be well presented to the audience as the musician takes on stage. In simple terms, performance, the scene of production and interpretation is a factor to consider in any art. Operas have taken over the music industry with Puccini’s Opera taking the centre stage. This paper discusses one of the films by the famous Italian opera master Puccini. This art is entitled: Tosca – A Tale of Love and Torture. This analysis depicts the performance in this film, the production style and the actor’s style in relation to the film. The main question addressed here is whether the work in this film is depicted as art or realism.
Play Synopsis
In this film, the camera captures the major scenes and actors at different stages of the play. Scarpia is the Chief of the police and is a fugitive republican in this play. He suspects Angelotti to be hidden by Cavaradossi in a close range to a church building where the painter works. Tosca comes live in the play at the torturing of Cavaradossi but to the surprise of the audience, he doesn’t say it to anyone due to fear. Tosca soon reveals where Angelotti is not out of goodwill but due to the building lust between the two. Love issues take center stage and as Scarpia makes his claim on Tosca, Tosca turns to him and stubs him ruthlessly. Distressed by the shock and the grief that befalls her, Tosca leaps to her death with the message we meet before God which to her is they will never meet again but only when she also dies. This play is summarized by the somber mood created in the film direction. The musical instruments and the songs in this play especially in the ending and the beginning scenes depict a reality-based performance.
Analysis of the Films
As we can see from his performance, there are extraordinary insights instigated in this play. The insights seem too personal which prepares the ground for the play. This in itself gives the Music in this play Realism. Personal emotions depicted in this performance give the audience the feeling of realism. Emotions are displayed by the actors as so real that when they watch they watch the film, they can be seen as being moved by the episodes of Love and the episodes of torture. Not just these but also the shooting and the murder clearly change the reality of the play. Musically, the recitative compositions and the songs used during the play bear a real message of reality rather than the art. The musical element woven in this film gives a strong background of choruses with a strong message. This message drives the audience to reality rather than art. (Budden, 22) comments that the emergence of naturalism is not the same as realism; rather the new style is a logical extension of the old style in the presentation of music.
A keen look at the accompaniments in the whole of the scene in this play depicts the intimate display which is intimate. The feeling created to the audience and the anxieties the audience is driven into are laid not just on the scene but also at the camera displays. He displays shows the reality in this play. The actors on the screen for those watching over the screen have a real picture. His is why the reactions of yelling, noise, wailing and cheering are witnessed in major parts of this play. This reality cannot be hidden from the audience of the performance.
From the artists themselves and the presenters, there is also an intimate reaction to different issues. The scenes o intimacy and love are well created by the actors. When the torture resounds, there is a change in the mood of the whole play which actually shows how real the play is to the audience. The use of different elements of music in this play displays the piece of work as a reality. The use of romantic sound for the melody, the rhythm, the texture, the harmony, the instrumental accompaniments, the articulation and expressions and the artier used by the presenters gives a real meaning of Romance in this piece of work. William Ashbrook (19) states the distinction between the two when Tosca comforts Cavaradossi after the scene of the torture.
Burton and Nicassio (24) state that Verismo, a 19th-century style of presentation which in the Italian language, means “truth” or merely referred to as realism is fully evident in this play. The ordinary representation of the actors in the play and the ordinary objects in this play also show reality. Though this is depicted in the play with a dramatic and artistic element, the kings and the mythical settings in the play show realism. Speaking of realism in this play, we must look at the part acted by Puccini’s La Boheme who plays a major movement in bringing out the theme of Realism. This is because he is ordinary in the making and his role in performance is considered ordinary especially during the torturing. The recitative dialogue in the play advances the narrative and fills the messages and interpretation of the detail of the Opera.
Lastly, Tosca’s suicide and death scene carries a message to the audience. She is characterized as a lady or woman who feels sorry for her involvements and contradictory statements. This is when she gives information about her lover’s murder and for carrying out the revenge on the wrong person. This takes away her strong character but to the audience, no one would tell if this was not a reality. The way she carries the guilt and the suicide involvement paints the whole scene as a big and real tragedy. To the surprise of her skill and art in the film, she slides slowly down the wall after being shooting the temple. To the audience, seeing her slide down is unbelievable and the emotion of disappointment sparks across the audience. But to her, she achieves and drives the message; it is real. (Samuel, 20) argues that realism should compel one through a sequence of emotional responses by the audience which thrills and disgust though others would expect an opera to be meek and fade in its obscurity. (Fisher, 25) he speaks about the reality of performance in the film where he points out reality to be more evident in Opera Tosca’s plays.
Conclusion
The two elements of art and realism are hard to differentiate in any piece of music especially the plays. I this play, both realism and truth can be seen as well as the art done by the musicians or actors. In contrast, there is an element of art in this play, especially on the renowned opera singer Joan Cardin. To her, she makes a claim for the love and her lifetime commitment to music as an art. Though this theme is also constant in the majority of the plays, it doesn’t override the role and realism that comes out of the work. In fact, according to me, the art in this performance contributes to the realism displayed here. In this play, Tosca is depicted not so much as realism but artistic in style. The two may be hard to separate but to me, the act of reality is more depicted in this play. This is why the Opera has received a welcome in most societies worldwide. It is therefore the reality in the play that will dictate the quality of a play in any part of music presentation and work (Kerman, 16).
Works Cited
Ashbrook, William. The Operas of Puccini. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1985.
Budden, Julian. Puccini: His Life and Works. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Burton, Deborah and Nicassio, Susan. Tosca’s Prism: Three Moments of Western Cultural History. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2004.
Fisher, Burton. Opera Classics Library Presents Tosca. Boca, Florida: Opera Journeys Publishing, 2005.
Kerman, Joseph. Opera as Drama. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2005.
Samuel, Webstar. Review: Tosca Puccini/Opera Australia. Web.