Puccini's pentatonic colours

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"Pentatonic writing, though it plays a less important part in this opera than in those which surround it (La Bohéme and Madama Butterfly), is yet another method whereby Puccini manages to avoid tension but add harmonic colour. Again, the best example comes from ‘Recondita armonia’, in which the orchestral introduction (evidently intended to illustrate the stage directions: ‘Cavaradossi paints rapidly, stopping often to survey his work’) is almost purely pentatonic. We might also recall that the cadence so commonly used in lyrical sections, ii7/ V9 (leading note omitted)/ I, uses, before the tonic chord, an exclusively pentatonic collection."

The five “colours” of this palette shine in the first aria of Puccini’s masterpiece in different ways: as impressionistic stacks of fifths and fourths in the introduction, as a countermelody to the opening words, and in the melody’s second verse, “E bruna Floria…”. Already in the pickup to the first word, “Recondita”—which avoids the leading tone—we sense the distinctive beauty of this “pentatonic cadence.” Combined with extended harmonies, a slow harmonic rhythm, and the comic/serious interventions of the local Sacristan, these elements make this one of Puccini’s most beloved opening arias.

Recondita armonia
Di bellezze diverse
È bruna Floria
L′ardente amante mia

E te, beltade ignota
Cinta di chiome bionde
Tu azzurro hai l'occhio
Tosca ha l′occhio nero

L'arte nel suo mistero
Le diverse bellezze insiem confonde
Ma nel ritrar costei
Il mio solo pensiero
Ah, il mio sol pensier sei tu
Tosca, sei tu

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)
Tosca, SC 69: Recondita armonia
Performance: Luciano Pavarotti

Further reading: Carner, Mosco. Giacomo Puccini: Tosca. Cambridge Opera Handbooks. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.

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