On April 10 and 12, the Jacksonville Symphony will present Puccini’s opera Tosca in Jacoby Symphony Hall, part of the Greta Challen Berg Artists Series. Arguably the world’s favorite opera, it’s a political thriller full of themes that continue to resonate in our time, even 120 years after it was written.
It centers around Floria Tosca, an acclaimed soprano. Her lover, Cavaradossi, is accused of helping an enemy of the state, and is framed by a corrupt and violent police chief, Baron Scarpia. After being tricked by Scarpia, Cavaradossi is hanged for treason. Tosca, who has also been tricked into thinking Cavaradossi will live, is heartbroken and, in the terrifyingly emotive final minutes of the opera, jumps to her death.
Most opera companies take months to stage a production. Few people realize how much work it takes to present an opera. On top of singing all the notes, a virtuosic act in itself, the cast must move around the stage as decided by the director (known in the business as “blocking”), act, change costumes between scenes and convince the audience that they are living and breathing their roles, all while keeping in time with the conductor and singing over an enormous orchestra with no amplification. We accomplish all of this in just over two weeks.
Those of you who’ve been to one of our operas in the past will know that we build an enormous stage on top of the stage in Jacoby Symphony Hall, allowing us to use a full-size orchestra and enjoy the hall’s fantastic acoustics. To allow quick set changes, we project images on huge screens rather than move clunky backdrops. This technique also allows us to keep the orchestra visible and center-stage, rather than hidden in a pit.
Needless to say, it’s an exhilarating, if exhausting, process. As before, this season we work with the acclaimed stage director Gregory Keller, who has just retired from an illustrious career at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
The preparation begins with me working with the orchestra alone, playing through the score without singers. Then we have 10 days with the singers, holed up in the Jean and Ross Krueger Chorus Room upstairs, blocking the action with Gregory, accompanied by a piano. We work over every scene relentlessly, with the singers moving around within white tape on the floor outlining the dimensions of the stage. Then we meet the orchestra for two on stage “Wandelproben”: literally “wandering rehearsals” in German, during which the singers wander around singing their parts with the orchestra for the first time. Time is very short. After those, we run the opera twice in two dress rehearsals, complete with orchestra, costumes, make-up, props, the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus (who have also been at the blocking rehearsals) and set projections. Before we know it, it’s showtime.
We are one of the only institutions to present opera to the First Coast. You would need to drive over a hundred miles to see an opera otherwise. Our cast features singers who grace the stages of the world’s finest houses. Take it from me: there is nothing like hearing the human voice in all its greatness and fragility live, a few feet away from where you sit. Puccini’s incredible and passionate music is the perfect vehicle to enhance that experience. At a time when certain young actors declare that opera is irrelevant, I’d encourage you to find out for yourself; two hours in Puccini’s intoxicating world might lead you to a different conclusion.
Tosca will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on April 10 and 3 p.m. on April 12 at Jacoby Symphony Hall, 300 Water St. For more information, visit jaxsymphony.org.
Courtney Lewis is music director of the Jacksonville Symphony.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Courtney Lewis: How the Jacksonville Symphony brings ‘Tosca’ to life
Reporting by Courtney Lewis, For the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union USA TODAY NETWORK / Florida Times-Union
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