Scarpia Sings Again

Baritones are rarely heroes in opera. But they usually have at least one redeeming characteristic. Rigoletto loves his daughter, Macbeth accepts his fate with manly resignation, etc. Iago in Verdi’s Otello is 100% villain. There’s nothing remotely good about him. He’s the devil’s spawn. 

Puccini isn’t as generous to baritones as was Verdi. But he has one role that every baritone wants to sing.  Baron Scarpia in Tosca; he is as evil as Iago. Because the music is not placed at the high end of a baritone’s range a solid bass- baritone can sing it effectively. The first Scarpia I ever heard was George London, a bass-baritone. He was sensational as Puccini’s political thug. 

In passing, I wonder if Don Giovanni belongs in this totally bad category. His whole life is devoted to mistreating women. What part of him is good?

The reason so many singers want to play Scarpia, even though he’s dead before the opera’s third act begins, is that it’s really fun to be a bad guy who can chew the scenery and dominate the stage. Tosca is an opera, despite a few references germane to 1800, that can be easily updated to the present or any time in between. Alas, dictatorships and their dreadful chiefs of police seem to be always with us. Scarpia is a precursor of Himmler, Heydrich, Yagoda, Yezhov, Beria, and their ilk.

Scarpia has a soliloquy that ends the first act. In a little over four minutes he displays all the monstrous qualities that define him. The lust for power and rapine is joined at the very end by the religious hypocrisy that he flaunts. Puccini’s genius for the theater was never surpassed by this brilliant finale. The words (Italian and English) are below.

The best Scarpia I ever heard was Tito Gobbi. He sang all the major Italian baritone roles, but it was Puccini’s malevolent police chief that remains to this day as his signature role. He recorded it with Callas and Di Stefano under Victor De Sabata’s direction almost 70 years ago. This Tosca is arguably the greatest recording of any opera yet made. Gobbi’s voice was distinctive, but it was his combination of singing and acting that set him apart from his peers.

Gobbi made his Met debut as Scarpia on Friday the 13th of January 1956. Appearing with him were Zinka Milanov, Giuseppe Di Stefano, and Fernando Corena. Dimitri Mitropoulos conducted. Gobbi was as great as his reputation. The only mishap was his misjudgement of how far forward he could kneel as the first act’s curtain fell. He was knocked over by the Met’s golden brocade, but to no obvious harm. This excerpt is from the recording mentioned above. Gobbi Va Tosca

Leonard Warren was Scapia 26 times at the Met, all between 1955-59. I saw him in the part several times. He was very effective, both vocally and dramatically. Warren Va Tosca

Giangiacomo Guelfi had an international career singing the big Verdi and Puccini roles. He only appeared twice at the Met – in Tosca and La Fanciulla Del West. He is suitably ominous and powerful. Why his Met appearances were just two is hard to fathom. Guelfi Va Tosca

Ettore Bastianini’s died prematurely from cancer at age 44. During the late 50s and early 60s he was one of the world’s leading baritones. He sang 87 times with the Met; he was Scarpia in three of these outings. His dark voice  conveys the anger and lust right for the role. Bastianini Va Tosca

Cornell MacNeil was one of the last centuries great baritones. At his peak, the 1960s, he was a vocal volcano. This recording made in 1978 show he had plenty of voice left after his golden years were behind him. MacNeil Va Tosca

Thomas Hampson has been a regular at the Met for more than 30 years. But he has never sung Scarpia with the company. He give a satisfactory reading of Te Deum, but he doesn’t quite reach the same degree of malevolent intensity that some of his colleagues achieve. Hampson Va Tosca

Bass-baritone Ruggero Raimondi was 65 years old when he performed Scarpia at Verona’s Roman Arena. Scarpia was not among the roles he sang at the Met; they were all bass roles. He did sing the terrible baron at many other venues. His voice is a little husky at this late part of his career, but he manages the F above middle C at the end well. Raimondi Va Tosca

Erwin Schrott is another bass-baritone who has Scarpia in his repertoire. The sound is not great, but Schrott give a convincing performance. Schrott Va Tosca

The late Dmitri Hvorostovsky was best known for his work in Russian operas as well as those of Verdi for which he was particularly well suited. He takes the fastest tempo of any of the singers presented here. As far as I know he never appeared in Tosca. This excerpt is from a studio recording. Given his exceptional voice and equally exceptional good looks he would have been a great Scarpia. Hvorostovsky Va Tosca

Ambrogio Maestri is a bass-baritone best known for his portrayal of Verdi’s Falstaff. He’s the best Falstaff currently active. Bryn Terfel is a close second. Scarpia is among his roles and he’s quite good in the part. This recording made at Verona’s Arena again displays the distinctive cannon shots that are unique to that venue. Maestri Va Tosca 

Terfel give a brilliant reading of the finale. This recording was made at a concert performance, hence the absence of Spoletta’s line. The great Welchman has more voice than the Choir Angelic. Terfel Va Tosca

Ludovic Tézier is a French baritone who is currently active at many of the world’s leading house. He’s a fine singer and his reading of the piece is also fine, if lacking just a bit of vocal heft. Tézier Va Tosca

Finally, an over the top performance given in concert by the Korean singer Seon-Yun Ko. I don’t know anything about him other than he’s a veteran who really gets into his part. Seon-Yun Ko Va Tosca