TOSCA
BY GIACOMO PUCINI AND LUIGI ILLICA
The verismo style of this work calls for a certain amount of literalness in which the grandeur of the Church, the state, and political revolution dwarf the intense emotions of the three principals. The focus of each of the three acts was a painted sharply angled wall employing exaggerated perspective to give the stage picture depth and height. The music was my guide in making richly colorful abstractions of the three Roman landmarks where the story unfolds. A single color predominated in each act:
- Gold for the church of San Andrea, in Act I (a, b)
- Scarlet for Scarpia’s apartment in the Farnesi Palace, Act II (a, b)
- Blue for the parapet of the Castel Sant‘Angelo, in Act III (a, b)
The exaggerated perspective of the baroque church architecture with painted rays of "holy light" gave the illusion of great space. An easily moveable scaffold served to hold the painterās Cavaradossiās tools as he works on the mural.
Huge doors towered over Scarpiaās desk. A tall black window that made its presence felt only when open, it let in a shaft of moonlight .These and the secret door to the torture chamber embedded on a wall map of 19th century Rome in blood red color served to emphasize the room as a place of brutal power.
The parapet of the castle where the lovers meet their deaths was both romantic and ominous. I rendered the statue that is the identifying element of this landmark site in silhouette and in overblown scale. The painted drop allowed for night to gradually evolve into day as the tragedy ends at dawn.
