Performances are on January 10, 15, 19, 22, 25, 29
Lyric Opera of Chicago

Interview with Violeta Urmana about this role with Lyric Opera News

Tosca will mark the Lithuanian soprano’s long-awaited Lyric debut. She spoke to Lyric Opera News during a recent run of Tosca performances at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She has also sung the title role at the Teatro Comunale (Florence, role debut), Los Angeles Opera, Covent Garden, and the Vienna Staatsoper.

When did you first experience this opera in a live performance?
I don’t remember! I probably saw it in an opera house for the first time in Vilnius, when I was still a pianist. I studied piano for 17 years, and when I finished, I then began from zero as a singer. I heard so many recordings, and, of course, I fell in love with the art of Maria Callas, but I listened to all the other important singers, too.

Even when you were still singing mezzo repertoire, was singing Tosca already a dream of yours?
Of course — it’s a very, very exciting role! You need so many emotions, and you must control those emotions so well. I didn’t view it as a role that would really help me to maintain my discipline as a singer!

What attracts you to the character?
It’s so real. In everything Tosca says, she’s always expressing very real feelings. You can always discover something new in her. Yesterday I sang Tosca here in Berlin and I was still finding new colors, changes of emotion, psychological things, which can keep it fresh.

How do you compare singing Tosca to your Verdi roles?
They’re all very different, of course, and you must find the key to each one. I know that when I’m preparing to sing Tosca, I’m very concentrated on what I will live onstage. Think of the second part of Act One, where she’s in a strange situation, and then it just gets worse and worse. Everything is always so dramatic, so you just have to be prepared psychologically within yourself.

Is the role well written for the voice?
It’s challenging, because she’s in an extreme situation. You must recognize that — you can’t keep on with just bel canto singing! Tosca has so many wonderful phrases, and they must be sung with real beauty, but there are passages where beauty is not enough. Of course, you can’t go over the limit, because that’s just screaming. The public likes good singing!

Is Tosca likeable?
I think so. Her jealousy is exaggerated, but that is maybe just an expression of her wonderful love for Cavaradossi. And this love is so big that she never would think of going with Scarpia — it’s impossible! She’s a very honest person, while Scarpia is slimy and strange.
Tosca is a singer, she’s creative, and she’s living her life a little like a theatrical piece. At the very end, when she sings “O Scarpia, avanti a Dio!” [“Oh, Scarpia, before God!”], she’s playing the role of her life. It’s something like “OK, I’ll die as a great actress!”

Is she heroic?
When she kills Scarpia, she’s thinking, “A woman killed this beast! All of Rome was scared of him, and a woman like me killed him.” She’s not killing him to be a heroine — this is a gesture to show that she couldn’t go to that man to buy the freedom of Cavaradossi.

For a lot of audiences, Tosca’s aria “Vissi d’arte” is all about waiting for the high B-flat.
It’s not about that! Some critics say, “This aria just stops the whole drama.” But it’s very logical that it should be there. Scarpia was driving her crazy-crazy-crazy, and now she has a still moment, where it’s as if she sees her life flowing in front of her eyes. This is a very important reflection and declaration by a woman who always went to church, who brought jewelry and flowers to the Madonna, who gave her own singing to the Madonna. “So, God, how could it happen to me that I’m such a nice person and then You give me this kind of situation in my life?” So for me, it’s very important — I don’t feel that it’s a drama-stopper at all.

Have you ever found Scarpia so appealing that your Tosca had a difficult time resisting him?
Actually, sometimes I’ve felt I would kill Scarpia in the first act! He can’t be shouting all the time. I did it with Samuel Ramey and he was very noble, but also seductive in his quiet power. He’d be so quiet, and then suddenly we’d hear, “Ma fatelo tacere!” [“Shut him up!” is Scarpia’s order to the torturer upon hearing Cavaradossi’s cries of pain]. That was scary and impressive. I felt very desperate with him. With a Scarpia I don’t like, I feel stronger and I can resist better.

You’ve sung with the CSO — are you looking forward to returning to Chicago?
I love Chicago because so many Lithuanians live there! They’re expecting me. I thought I would make my debut a long time ago. I did an audition for Ardis Krainik, she was very excited, and I thought, “Something will come in a year or two.” Then she died and it never came, this debut — it wasn’t possible. But I did see the opera house when I was in Chicago, and I accepted this Tosca with joy.