Tosca Puccini
–Overview
Where passion burns, power destroys
In a city gripped by tyranny, three lives are bound by passion, power and deceit. Floria Tosca is a celebrated prima donna caught in a web of lies. Her lover, Mario Cavaradossi, a rebellious artist with a conscience, hides a political fugitive wanted by the city’s ruthless Chief of Police Scarpia - who has his sights on two things: the fugitive - and Tosca herself. As tensions rise, Tosca must navigate a labyrinth of blackmail and betrayal, making an impossible decision between love and survival.
Tosca is a fast-paced operatic thriller and Puccini’s unforgettable score heightens every moment of drama, from the spine-tingling aria Te deum to the raw beauty of Vissi d’arte. This is opera at its most gripping and as the final notes fade, you’ll be left on the edge of your seat wondering just how far you would go for love?
Photos by Richard Hubert Smith. Original production Opera North
Leading production support from Colwinston Charitable Trust
Supported by Dunard Fund a Sheila & Richard Brooks
Pricing
Under 16s
£10 when accompanied by a full price adult tickets (subject to availability)
Good to know
Approximately two hours and 40 minutes with two intervals
Sung in Italian with surtitles in English and Welsh
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Facts
Original production Opera North
Synopsis
Synopsis
Act I
Rome is ruled by an authoritarian government. Its chief of police Baron Scarpia
suppresses all dissent. When Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner, seeks refuge in a church, he meets the artist Mario Cavaradossi, who agrees to help him. Cavaradossi’s lover is Floria Tosca, one of Rome’s most adored singers. Scarpia has long obsessed over her. Suspecting that Cavaradossi is linked to the escape of Angelotti, he sees an opportunity to pursue his desires for Tosca.
Act II
Cavaradossi is arrested. Tosca seeks out Scarpia and begs him to let her lover go. In her desperation she reveals Angelotti’s whereabouts, but this implicates her lover in a capital crime. Scarpia offers Tosca an ultimatum. He will spare her lover, but she must give herself to him. Tosca, seeing no other solution, agrees and Scarpia sends a command to the firing squad to load their rifles with blanks. He then goes to embrace Tosca, but she grabs a knife and stabs him to death.
Act III
Tosca goes to Cavaradossi in his cell and tells him that he must play along with a
mock-execution, after which they will be allowed to flee Rome. Cavaradossi is led
away, the firing squad load their rifles, aim and fire. Cavaradossi’s body falls. Tosca realises that Scarpia has betrayed her. Suddenly Scarpia’s men arrive, having discovered the Baron’s body. They rush to arrest Tosca, but she flees their grasp and leaps from a parapet to her death.