I am very excited to begin rehearsals for the Tosca chorus at Fresno Grand Opera tonight!
Tosca is sublime, amazing, superlative... so many adjectives but others have phrased it better than I so here is a link to catch a summary...
Metropolitan Opera Tosca Synopsis
The first thing I like to rehearse in an opera chorus is diction. Habits are formed very quickly when linked to music and because of the way our brains work it is very difficult to "fix it later."
With that in mind, I have recorded diction for the chorus parts, adults and children, downloadable on Dropbox.
Tosca Diction Folder
As you practice, here are two things to always remember for perfect (i.e. we don't want to sound American!) Italian details!
1) Dentalized consonants
2) No diphthongs
Not sure what those mean? Here is a recording of explanation and samples... only about 3 minutes long, a great way to jump-start your soon-to-be amazing Italian!
Italian Diction Jump-Start Guidelines
Also of interest...
Translation for the 1st piece: (Burton D. Fischer)
T
O S C A
Allievi
(colla
massima confusioae)
Dove?
Sagrestano
In
Sagrestia. (spinge alcuni chierici)
Alcuni
Allievi
Ma
che awenne?
Sagrestano
Nol
sapete?
Bonaparte...
scellerato...
Bonaparte...
Altri
Allievi
Ebben?
Che fu?
Sagrestano
Fu
spennato, sfracellato
e
piombato a Belzebu !
Allievi,
Cantori, ecc.
Chi
lo dice ?
fe
sogno!
fe
fola!
Sagrestano
fe
verldica parola
or
ne giunse la notizia !
E
questa sera
gran
fiaccolata
veglia
di gala a Palazzo Farnese,
ed
tm'apposita
nuova
cantata
con
Floria Tosca!
E
nelle chiese
inni
al Signore !
Presto
a vestirvi,
non
piu clamore!
Tntti
(ridendo
e gridando gioiosamente)
Doppio
soldo*., Te Deum... Gloria!
Viva
il Re!.,. Si festeggi la vittoria!
-
19 -
T
O S C A
All
Whither?
Sacristan
This
way, good people...
(pushing
them towards the Sacristy)
All
What
happened?
Sacristan
Don't
you know? Buonaparte...
the
miscreant... Buonaparte...
All
Well,
what of him?
Sacristan
Beaten,
crushed, humiliated;
Satan
has him on the hip!
All
Who
can prove it? What silly nonsense!
Sacristan
'Tis
the truth, I do assure ye !
Soon
the news will be made public.
All
'Twill
be hailed with loud rejoicing!
Sacristan
This
very evening there will be great doings,
Gala
performance and torchlight procession,
Also
an apposite brand-new cantata
Sung
by the Floria with appropriate expression.
You
singing boys
Put
on your vestments, make no more noise.
Off
! off, without delay !
All
(They
burst out laughing and pay no attention to the Sacristan, who tries in vain to
drive
them
into the sacristy)
Double
wages ! Te Deum, gloria !
Long
live the King!
This
very evening there will be great doings,
gala
performance, torchlight procession,
a
brand-new cantata sung by Tosca.
Long
live the King!
Yes,
this evening there will be great do ...
(enter
Scarpia unexpectedly, he stands in the doorway; seeing him, all are stricken
dumb
and
motionless, as though spell-bound)
Translation for Act 2 Piece: (A. Sciaronne)
