Scarpia
Jean-François Jung
1995 - 45 min - Betacam SP - Couleur - France

In 1994, 54-year old José van Dam undertook to play the role of Scarpia in Puccini's "Tosca" for the first time, a part that he had refused repeatedly in the past. In April 1995 in Liège, the singer met again with stage director Nicolas Joël for the revival of "Tosca".
This documentary examines the dramatic and musical characters of Scarpia as seen through the eyes of a mature singer with a newfound passion for the role.
We see the singer studying the score on the piano, by himself or with a pianist, in order to highlight the musical themes connected with the "character" and to have his commentary "in vivo".
Act II, which is an essential part of the work and of Scarpia's character build-up, gets particular treatment, in a fairly chronological way. Viewers who do not know Tosca well, will therefore be able to follow the plot of this act scene by scene and understand the full implications of Tosca's murder of the hateful Scarpia.