Art Imitates Life, Part 1

Although for utter diva-dom one would be tempted to elect the eponymous and highly-emotional heroine of Puccini’s 1900 Tosca, Floria is sincerely religious -- she pays her respects to the Virgin before she embraces her lover, Mario, and in "Vissi d’arte" reveals that at least some of the profits of her art have gone to buy jewels for the robe of the Madonna's statue. We hear her "perform" only briefly, during Act II, when she can be heard offstage singing part of the cantata said to have been specially written for her –- a liturgical piece that one would imagine she deeply believes in as far more signficant than a paying gig. While she enjoys patronage and honor, we are given to understand that her awareness that her voice is a gift from God is what drives her career.

Antonia's late Mother in Offenbach's 1882 Les Contes d'Hoffmann, who presumably died of the consumption that now prevents her talented daughter from permission to sing even for pleasure, was definitely a glamorous opera star and the set usually includes a large portrait of her in all her glory. The evil Dr. Miracle, who as her physician knows full well the girl's frailty, works at Antonia's mind, promising her the rapturous ovations of an adoring public. The alternative, he heavily concludes, is a middle-class life of anonymity filled with squalling brats...as the wife of Hoffmann! When she remains steadfast to Hoffmann and her promise not to sing, Miracle evokes the spirit of her mother whose own voice urges Antonia to join in with her. Antonia gives in, swept away by the sheer ecstasy of performing, and causes herself a mortal injury in the process.

Perhaps, in the end, it is better to be a practical performer, fueled by monetary compensation, than an empassioned one!

In Part 2, we’ll examine three other works that concern characters whose operas truly immerse them in the operatic profession, and examine what drives these characters to sing about singing.

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