Opera Scotland

Tosca 1910Moody-Manners Opera Company

Read more about the opera Tosca

The first Scottish performances of Tosca were well received, with Fanny Moody getting particular praise. Opinions of the opera were not wholly favourable, though the consensus seems to have been that the libretto by Giacosa and Illica was vastly better than Sardou's source play. The music created by Puccini seemed almost of secondary interest. The highlights picked out by the Glasgow Herald, even at a first hearing, were 'Vissi d'arte' in the second act and Cavaradossi's two arias in Acts 1 and 3.

In Glasgow and Aberdeen, though not in Dundee or Edinburgh, audiences were given the benefit of a curtain-raiser, in the shape of a one-act piece, Maître Seiler by Alick Maclean, an established composer.  It does not seem to have made much of an impression, but then few short operas could hope to stay in the memory when followed by Puccini's drama.

Cast details are drawn from a programme in Aberdeen City Library, supplemented by reviews in the Glasgow Herald and Dundee Advertiser.