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Tosca

Tosca

Tosca

Main Stage
Opera and music

The splendour of Rome. The devastation of war. Puccini’s operatic thriller returns in an epic new production.  

An actor playing Tosca in Oliver Mears’ production of Tosca stands in a dramatic red gown against a marble-textured wall. Her hands are pressed above her head and her body angled towards it, while parts of the wall appear to be cracking around her. A strong diagonal shadow casts across the wall, adding depth and tension to the composition. The setting is abstract and theatrical, with cool-toned lighting contrasting against the flowing red fabric.

Anna Netrebko, Aleksandra Kurzak and Ailyn Pérez share the title role, starring alongside Freddie De Tommaso and Gerald Finley in a thrilling new staging of Puccini’s Tosca for The Royal Opera. Conducted by new Music Director Jakub Hrůša and directed by Oliver Mears. 

Running time
The performance lasts approximately 3 hours, including two intervals
Approximate running times:
Guidance
Suitable for ages 14+. This production contains depiction of execution.
Language
Sung in Italian with English surtitles, which are displayed on screens above the stage and around the auditorium.
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Exceptional philanthropic support from

Royal Ballet and Opera Principal Julia Rausing Trust

Generous philanthropic support from

Philipp Freise, Charles Holloway OBE, John McGinn and Cary Davis, Simon and Virginia Robertson, The Thompson Family Charitable Trust, Royal Ballet and Opera Patrons and The American Friends of Covent Garden

In Partnership with Rolex, Principal Partner, The Royal Opera
Sponsor`s logo
Get to know Puccini’s opera on Stream by watching our previous production, directed by Jonathan Kent

A young couple – and a violent predator

In war-torn Rome, Floria Tosca and Mario Cavaradossi live for each other and for 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 into making a horrific bargain: sleeping with the man she hates to save the man she loves. Can she find a way out?

A star-studded cast includes sopranos Anna Netrebko, Aleksandra Kurzak and Ailyn Pérez as Tosca, tenor Freddie De Tommaso as Cavaradossi, and bass-baritone Gerald Finley as Scarpia, with Jakub Hrůša conducting his first new production as Music Director of The Royal Opera. Modern-day Rome provides the backdrop for Oliver Mears’ unmissable, gripping new production of Puccini’s thriller. 

To find out more about the opera, including key plot points and background information, read our Tosca Opera Essentials page.

Background

The composer’s journey: from Sardou's play to Puccini’s opera  

From the early 1890s Giacomo Puccini had toyed with adapting French playwright Victorien Sardou’s gripping melodrama La Tosca into an opera, but only began serious work following the premiere of the critically acclaimed La bohème in 1896. Employing La bohème's gifted librettists Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica to streamline Sardou's complicated plot, Puccini’s Tosca premiered in 1900. With the city gripped by political unrest, fears of violence plagued the premiere at Rome’s Teatro Costanzi. However, Tosca opened without incident, and although unpopular with critics who disliked its violence, it became an immediate success with the public and has remained a favourite ever since.  

 

Character-painting through music  

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. 

To find exclusive souvenirs and gifts inspired by Puccini's opera: explore the Tosca collection at the Royal Ballet and Opera Shop

Cast and Creatives

Creatives
Director

Oliver Mears

Costume designer

Ilona Karas

Lighting Designer

Fabiana Piccioli

Movement and Intimacy Director

Anna Morrissey

Reviews

The Times
Financial Times
London Unattached
Broadway World
Daily Express
Forum Opéra
The Telegraph
The Guardian
The Stage
London Theatre
Opera Now
The Arts Desk
Daily Mail

Access

All performances have Audio Description available from Front of House or on the Royal Ballet and Opera SoundCloud, described by Alice Gilmour.

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