Here's something you might be interested in.
Does sexual attraction count for love when we’re adding depth to opera characters? Yes! Remember that the first guidepost is relationship.
Let's take a look at a scene where we might not expect to find love. The scene I'm thinking of is from Act ii of Tosca.
Word has come of Napoleon's victory, Cavaradossi has been dragged off stage and now it's just Tosca and Scarpia alone in his opulent den of iniquity.
On the page Tosca is completely repulsed by Scarpia and completely loyal to her Mario Cavaradossi. She screams for help and offers her prayer to God with her signature aria Vissi d’arte, and even asks Scarpia how much money he wants. She’ll do anything to avoid having sex with him.
She reminds me of Br’er Rabbit--”Please don’t throw me in the briar patch!”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7tyhpWiZyM
The music is dramatic and worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster with one dimensional characters. However, if we decide that deep down Tosca has a sexual attraction to Scarpia then the scene starts to get very interesting.
Can we justify Tosca having a sexual desire for Scarpia? Let’s see, we know from Act i that Tosca is constantly going to the confessional to report her sins. Could some of these sins be impure thoughts? I think so.
We also know that Tosca is maniacally jealous. Could this be coming from a guilty conscious? I think so.
What about Scarpia? He’s the ultimate bad boy. He’s rich, powerful, ruthless, and blatantly sexual. Scarpia could be seen as sexually threatening but in an exciting way. Scarpia is one of those men who lets women know, in no uncertain terms, what he wants.
Let’s also remember that before Mario is dragged off stage he has cursed Tosca for betraying him.
As it turns out Tosca stabs Scarpia to death which is ironic because Scarpia wanted to stick Tosca to death--if you know what I mean. If Tosca doesn't kill Scarpia I think she ends up enjoying his sexual energy.
Many of us approach opera as if sex doesn't exist or if it does it's respectable sex. Scarpia wants to split Tosca in half and use her in every way imaginable. He wants to make her scream and Tosca wants to scream.
When we consider that Tosca is sexually attracted to Scarpia it makes this scene more intense, more poignant, and more entertaining.
Does sexual attraction count for love when we’re adding depth to opera characters? Yes! Remember that the first guidepost is relationship.
Let's take a look at a scene where we might not expect to find love. The scene I'm thinking of is from Act ii of Tosca.
Word has come of Napoleon's victory, Cavaradossi has been dragged off stage and now it's just Tosca and Scarpia alone in his opulent den of iniquity.
On the page Tosca is completely repulsed by Scarpia and completely loyal to her Mario Cavaradossi. She screams for help and offers her prayer to God with her signature aria Vissi d’arte, and even asks Scarpia how much money he wants. She’ll do anything to avoid having sex with him.
She reminds me of Br’er Rabbit--”Please don’t throw me in the briar patch!”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7tyhpWiZyM
The music is dramatic and worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster with one dimensional characters. However, if we decide that deep down Tosca has a sexual attraction to Scarpia then the scene starts to get very interesting.
Can we justify Tosca having a sexual desire for Scarpia? Let’s see, we know from Act i that Tosca is constantly going to the confessional to report her sins. Could some of these sins be impure thoughts? I think so.
We also know that Tosca is maniacally jealous. Could this be coming from a guilty conscious? I think so.
What about Scarpia? He’s the ultimate bad boy. He’s rich, powerful, ruthless, and blatantly sexual. Scarpia could be seen as sexually threatening but in an exciting way. Scarpia is one of those men who lets women know, in no uncertain terms, what he wants.
Let’s also remember that before Mario is dragged off stage he has cursed Tosca for betraying him.
As it turns out Tosca stabs Scarpia to death which is ironic because Scarpia wanted to stick Tosca to death--if you know what I mean. If Tosca doesn't kill Scarpia I think she ends up enjoying his sexual energy.
Many of us approach opera as if sex doesn't exist or if it does it's respectable sex. Scarpia wants to split Tosca in half and use her in every way imaginable. He wants to make her scream and Tosca wants to scream.
When we consider that Tosca is sexually attracted to Scarpia it makes this scene more intense, more poignant, and more entertaining.