Tosca - The Royal Opera

In war-torn Rome, Floria Tosca and Mario Cavaradossi live for each other and their art. But when Cavaradossi helps an escaped prisoner, the lovers make a deadly enemy in the form of Baron Scarpia, Chief of Police. At the mercy of Scarpia’s twisted desires, Tosca is forced to make a horrific bargain: sleeping with the man she hates in order to save the man she loves. Can she find a way out?

A star-studded cast includes soprano Anna Netrebko performing the role of Tosca, tenor Freddie De Tommaso as Cavaradossi, and bass-baritone Gerald Finley as Scarpia, with Music Director of The Royal Opera Jakub Hr?ša conducting his first new production in the role. An alternative, modern-day Rome provides the backdrop for Oliver Mears’ unmissable, gripping new production of Puccini’s thriller.

Puccini’s music plunges the audience straight into the action, and the pace doesn’t let up. Featuring the heroine’s sublime prayer to art, ‘Vissi d’arte’, and Cavaradossi’s lament, ‘E lucevan le stelle’, his poignant lament, Tosca is an icon of the opera repertoire. Puccini portrays the idealism of Tosca and her lover Cavaradossi through radiant, expansive music, including Act I’s duet ‘Qual’occhio al mondo’ (What eyes of this world) and Cavaradossi’s ardent aria ‘Recondita armonia’ (Hidden harmony). Scarpia’s music, by contrast, is dark and terrifying – from the demonic chords that open the opera to the violence of his Act II exchanges with Tosca.

Sung in Italian Language with English Subtitles