Search

On January 14, 1900, Giacomo Puccini’s opera Tosca made its premiere in Rome, the city in which it was set. A glittering crowd of notables took their seats for the sold-out performance. The attendance of members of the royal family and government leaders gave the evening the gloss of an official occasion. The glamour of the evening masked a harsh social reality, however: Italy was a political tinderbox. Strikes and riots paralyzed the nation, and rumors of disturbances and conspiracies at the opera house had people’s nerves on edge. A delegation from the Roman police told Leopoldo Mugnone, the conductor, that in case of demonstrations or violence he was to play the royal march to calm the audience.

The premiere of the opera Carmen by the French composer Georges Bizet on March 3, 1875, was poorly received. The audience was shocked by the portrayal of lower-class characters in Seville, Spain—particularly by the onstage depiction of the murder of the title character by her lover. However, audiences at a production staged later that year in Vienna, Austria, were drawn to the strong characters, exotic locales, colorful gypsy scenes, and engaging music, and Carmen soon became one of the favorite and most often performed works in the operatic repertoire.