This...this is Scarpia. Look at his face when he realizes that he is in a religious procession. The battle between lust and piety. And musically his voice is beautiful, resonating with that delicious timbre. What a marvelous villain.
His eyes open at 4:43 when the Te Deum properly start, realizing that he has literally forgot the reason he’s here: for the procession, Te Deum, and blessing with the monstrance. He literally forgot God and this moment changed me on how this scene should play out. As far as I know, that is unique to this production and therefore adds so much meaning to Scarpia’s character here.
@@photo161 At the end of a Te Deum, there's a blessing called Benediction with a Eucharistic Host (the bread consecrated at Mass into Christ). That's why Scarpia's hitting himself at the end. Tosca made him forget God.
Questa è un'aria solenne religiosa, sacra divina, non ho parole adatte so soltanto che mi avvolge sempre totalmente e quando abitavo a Roma amavo spesso visitare la Chiesa dove ha avuto luogo questa preziosa Tosca,. Grazie G. PUCCINI Ci hai lasciato fra tante pagine divine e questa è una delle quali ne sono rapita. 🙏💙💓
Many baritone singers can sing Scarpia, but only Gobbi became Scarpia. That is the only thing that matters. Nobody surpasses the dramatic intensity of Tito Gobbi, the best among many big names with a beautiful voice.
Absolutely amazing!-Have never seen this clip-Always wished that the Te Deum was recorded on tape - and discovered it this evening. First saw Gobbi sing this at Covent garden in 1970. A legend. Many thanks for posting this.
Grande Tito Gobbi, uma das melhores vozes do século - um dos mais grandiosos Scarpias dos palcos de todos os tempos - o Te Deum é audacioso para a época, pois é o profano desafiando ás portas de um altar mór! Puccini é revolucionário e contestador!
The revelation so powerfully conveyed by the great Tito Gobbi, when he finds that his obsession with Tosca has cost him everything, even his relationship with his God...
Ah...the finest villain in all of opera. Thank you for posting this clip. It's wonderful to watch Gobbi sing Te Deum. For me, he defined the role of Scarpia just as Callas defined Tosca. I continue to love him...
fabulous . Love the mad staring eyes . Got to be one of the best , maybe THE best ever Scarpias,though many other fine versions . How lucky we are to have them all to listen to . Thanks for posting this .
En la historia de la ópera hay 4 personajes que Tito Gobbi llevó a la perfección: Georgio Germont (La Traviata) Rigoletto (Idem) Yago (Otello) y Scarpia (Tosca). Nadie pudo acercarse a lograr tal calidad de interpretación.
Gobbi was the greatest singing actor in recorded history. His subtlety and vocal colouring to suit each role is unrivalled in the history of the grammaphone. The only other singer that can be mentioned in the same breath as Gobbi is Giuseppe Taddei.
@@YortOK I'll agree. My parents saw DiStefano early and then through his almost full career and raved about him, but Gobbi was their gold standard. Thank you for raising the underappreciated Taddei as well, his was the version I grew up with and his diction is superior to Gobbi if I can be forgiven for saying that about Gobbi. :)
Questa Te Deum mi avvolge in un religioso e possente Silenzio interiore. Qualsiasi artista, lo interpreti è x me un'aria di grandiosa coralita, musicale al di là, del contenuto storico la, musica e Maestosa. Grazie divino G. Puccini. 🙏❤️🎵🌷
OUTSTANDING and highly fascinating clip!!! Thank you VERY much for posting this!!! What an outstanding artist Gobbi was! I had the good fortune to see him three times at Lyric Opera of Chicago: once as Don Giovanni (1969), twice as Baron Scarpia (1971 and 1973: both times in that classic production which he staged!).
I saw a video of Sherrill Milnes as Scarpia. His interpretation of this villain was very different. Oh he was evil all right, but disguised with a velvet glove. Both legitimate, each different. I think that I prefer the true villainy of Tito Gobi.
Great performance, thank you for posting this. I was furtunate to see Gobbi live in this rola at the Rome Opera in 1965. This scene in particular was ubforgettable
It's always amazing to hear Basses like Ramey, and London sing Scarpia, thrilling even- but for me, the real deal is with the true baritone voice, like Gobbi, or MacNeil, or nowadays, someone like Paolo Gavanelli...that's real, Italianate singing.
The baritones sound more evil, for some reason. After all, that's the chief utility of Scarpia, his foulness. No matter how much a wife might complain about her husband, he can always respond "well, I'm not as bad as Scarpia, am I?"
Scarpia was written for Antonio Scotti, who is usually thought of as a baritone but if you listen he's actually a basso cantante (viz. his recording of "Eri tu". So it can be either way.
@@Uncouthsasquach - You're right about Sherrill Milnes, except that for me he has an overtone of, gasp, compassion. But even Tito Gobbi realizes he is wrong in his lust fpr Tosca. He still pursues her, though. I saw a video of Dmitry Hvorostovski today. He also seemed menacing and evil, but too beautiful actually to be that evil.
This is a great video. How well I remember the furor Gobbi set as Scarpia. He established a standard that has never been matched to this listener's ears. Thank you for posting this lengendary record of the greatest singing in the world. Singers interpreting this role have much to learn from Gobbi and the era of great singers.
You would never have to explain to a red-blooded woman why Tito Gobbi's Scarpia is so mesmerising. What is disturbing is the number of male critics who clearly do not have the capacity to empathise with the implied sexual power in this interpretation.
@@404modestahousebills4 As has been said in other contexts, it is not the equipment, it's the way it is used. The voice is intrinsically less powerful than, say, Bastianini's, but no other baritone is more dramatically expressive. Which is what counts in performance.
allora questo è quello che penso dello Scarpia di Gobbi ( e solo dello Scarpia): è il primo cantante veramente innovativo nel ruolo per lo scavo psicologico del personaggio reso con bravura magistrale. alcuni incisi sono tuttora insuperati ( penso all'apparentemente banale "avrà pranzato", o all'"entri, in buon punto!")ma, anche in questo ruolo dove alcuni suonacci sono ammessi, gli acuti sono uno strazio dell'anima, il birignao è francamente eccessivo e il parlato abbonda
@@shirleyrombough8173 I like some operas. Verdi is my favorite. I even was part of one of the production of Tosca in Montreal, in 1991. Maybe Gobbi had some breathing problem at the time. Or hearing. Or both. Not that bad, mind you. But certainly not he best I've heard! And I like the knocking of the prop by a "sbirri".
