Murder at the Opera - Margaret Truman [64]
“Angelotti emerges from where he’s been hiding, and his friend Cavaradossi takes him to his villa, where he’ll be safe from the police who are hunting him. Tosca returns to meet her lover but finds him gone. Instead, the sinister, lecherous Baron Scarpia, head of the Roman police, is there with his men in search of Angelotti. He reinforces Tosca’s doubts about Cavaradossi’s fidelity, and sends her on her way. Little does she know, Scarpia has instructed his officers to follow her, certain that she’ll lead them to Angelotti
Zambrano lowered his voice and twisted a nonexistent handlebar moustache. “And we learn that Scarpia desires the lovely Tosca for himself
There were a few “Ooohs” and “Aaahs,” and a solo giggler.
Zambrano continued. “Angelotti is still at large when Act II opens, but Cavaradossi is in custody for having aided his friend’s escape. When he refuses to reveal Angelotti’s hiding place, he’s taken to the torture chamber. Tosca arrives. Hearing her lover’s tortured moans, she tells Scarpia where he can find Angelotti. Cavaradossi is brought bloody but defiant from the torture chamber and curses Scarpia and his methods. Cavaradossi is again arrested, led away, and sentenced to die
Zambrano rubbed his surprisingly small hands together and his eyes widened. “Aha,” he said, “now comes the best part. Tosca pleads for Cavaradossi’s life. Scarpia, scoundrel that he is, says he’ll pardon Cavaradossi if Tosca will go to bed with him. She agrees. Scarpia tells his second in command, Spoletta, to stage a mock execution of Cavaradossi, and writes an official note granting Cavaradossi and Tosca safe passage from the country.
“He finishes writing the note and hands it to Tosca, who slips it into her bosom. Then she stabs him to death, and places a crucifix on his breast and candles at his head and feet. She slips away
Smith’s boss, Wilfred Burns, laughed and said, “Looks like she could have used a good defense lawyer like you, Mac
“And I’d take the case,” Mac said lightheartedly. “I’d put the victim, Scarpia, on trial, and get the jury to view it as justifiable homicide
“Might make a good exercise for your students,” Burns said, “how they’d defend Ms. Tosca
“Madame Tosca,” Zambrano corrected, obviously anxious to continue with his story. “The third act takes place at the Castle of Sant’Angelo. Cavaradossi bribes a jailer to let him write a final note to Tosca—you see, he doesn’t know that the execution will be for show only, and that he will live. Tosca arrives and tells Cavaradossi about having murdered Scarpia, and that it will be a simulated execution. She instructs him how to fall realistically when the shots are fired.
“She leaves, and Cavaradossi faces the firing squad. He falls! She rushes to his side and is horrified to see that the execution was real after all. He’s dead! She hears shouts in the distance announcing that Baron Scarpia has been murdered. As the police rush in to arrest her, the despairing Tosca, vowing to avenge herself before God, leaps to her death from the parapet
Some of the supers applauded Zambrano’s telling of the tale.
The director checked his watch. “We’d better get on with the rehearsal,” he said. “Before I do, though, I should mention the famous story of the bouncing Tosca
“I love this story,” a super announced. “I wish I could have seen it
“We all wish that,” Zambrano said. “When Tosca flings herself to her death, it’s supposedly into the Tiber River, although anyone who is familiar with Rome knows that it would be impossible for her to reach the river. In reality, I think she simply flattens herself on the cobblestones below. In any event, Toscas throughout