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Tosca

Closing: December 13, 2024

Tosca - West End History , Info & More

Royal Opera House
Covent Garden London

__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 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), Cavaradossi's ardent aria 'Recondita armonia' (Hidden harmony) and Tosca's despairing Act II prayer 'Vissi d'arte' (I lived for my art). 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.


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Review: MASTER CLASS at Roustabouts And Scripps Ranch Theatre
by ErinMarie Reiter - Nov 22, 2025


'Master Class,' running through December 14 in a co-production between The Roustabouts Theatre Company and Scripps Ranch Theatre, revisits Maria Callas in the final chapter of her performing life; when her voice had faded, yet her fervor for her art had not.

Kristin Sampson and Jeremy Brauner to Star in Light Opera Of New Jersey 2025 Holiday Pops Concert
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Nov 7, 2025


Light Opera of New Jersey has revealed Kristin Sampson and Jeremy Brauner as the principal artists who will headline its Holiday Pops Concert at the Ridge Performing Arts Center in Basking Ridge, NJ.

David Hyde Pierce Stars in Boston Lyric Opera's VALKYRIES!
by Stephi Wild - Oct 31, 2025


Join David Hyde Pierce in Boston Lyric Opera's VALKYRIES!, a comedic take on Wagner's classic, premiering Nov. 12 in Boston.

Guild Opera Company to Present Free Concert Of IL TROVATORE This Weekend
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 28, 2025


Guild Opera Co. will present Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi in concert. A musical masterpiece filled with passion, revenge, and a mistaken identity. Learn how to attend!

Photos: PARSIFAL at the San Francisco Opera
by Gillian Blum - Oct 25, 2025


San Francisco Opera's new production of Richard Wagner's PARSIFAL runs from October 25 through November 13 on the War Memorial Opera House stage, and the production released photos.

THE MET: LIVE IN HD Continues With Puccini’s LA BOHÈME On November 8
by A.A. Cristi - Oct 16, 2025


The Metropolitan Opera’s 2025–26 Live in HD season continues with Puccini’s La Bohème on Saturday, November 8, at 1 p.m. ET, transmitted live to cinemas worldwide.

THE MAID OF ORLEANS Comes to the Dutch National Opera Next Month
by Stephi Wild - Oct 16, 2025


The Maid of Orleans is coming to the Dutch National Opera next month. Tchaikovsky based his opera on the play of the same name by Friedrich Schiller. Learn more here!

The Programme GNO for All Continues For a Second Season
by Stephi Wild - Oct 14, 2025


Following its great success during the 2024/25 season, the programme GNO for All will continue into the 2025/26 season. Learn more about the upcoming programming here!

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by A.A. Cristi - Oct 6, 2025


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by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 3, 2025


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Opera Carolina Will Host A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
by Stephi Wild - Oct 2, 2025


This fall, step into a world of passion, sacrifice, and unforgettable music as A Night To Remember returns to the prestigious Belk Theater. Learn more about the performance here!

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by A.A. Cristi - Sep 29, 2025


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Ailyn Pérez Will Sing the Title Role in TOSCA at the Royal Opera House
by A.A. Cristi - Sep 23, 2025


The Royal Opera House has announced a cast change for the September 24, 2025, performance of Puccini’s Tosca. Ailyn Pérez will perform the title role in place of Aleksandra Kurzak, who has withdrawn due to illness.

McCarter Theatre Center Opens Fall Season With Camille A. Brown and Dancers in I AM
by Stephi Wild - Sep 23, 2025


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Wake Up With BroadwayWorld September 15, 2025
by - Sep 15, 2025


Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is September 15, 2025 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours.

Review: TOSCA, Starring Anna Netrebko, Royal Ballet and Opera
by Gary Naylor - Sep 12, 2025


If you come to opera via film musicals and, later, stage shows, Tosca is amongst the most accessible. The story of the lovers and the evil apparatchik is told at a furious pace, trauma after trauma piling up as the emotional heft becomes all but unbearable. There’s no standing about for twenty minutes while someone sings stage left, no mythical dwarves hiding gold, no magical toymaker. Nor, as early critics were quick to point out, is there a whole lot of poetry either in Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa adaptation of Victorien Sardou’s sensational play. However, there are compensations…

THE MAGIC FLUTE and More Set for Opera Carolina 2025-26 Season
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Sep 11, 2025


Opera Carolina - the largest professional opera company in the Carolinas - has revealed programming for its upcoming 76th season with an ambitious lineup of grand operas, special concerts, philanthropic events, and community initiatives. 

Photos: Elizabeth McGovern, Donna Murphy, & More Attend New York Premiere of DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE
by Josh Sharpe - Sep 10, 2025


Ahead of the movie hitting theaters this week, the cast and crew of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale gathered for the film's New York premiere on Monday evening. Take a look at the photos here!

THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE Opens Seattle Opera's 25-26 Season
by Stephi Wild - Sep 5, 2025


Seattle Opera will open its 2025/26 season with Gilbert and Sullivan's beloved comedy The Pirates of Penzance, marking the first time a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta has been produced at the company.

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José Miguel Pérez-Sierra es director musical del Teatro de la Zarzuela desde 2024. Debutó en 2005 con la Sinfónica de Galicia y fue el director más joven en subir al podio del Rossini Opera Festival de Pésaro con Il viaggio a Reims.

TOSCA Comes to the Dutch National Opera
by Stephi Wild - Jul 28, 2025


TOSCA Comes to the Dutch National Opera in September. Love, power and betrayal take centre stage in Tosca, a psychological thriller by Giacomo Puccini. 

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by Gary Naylor - Jul 21, 2025


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Tosca History

Other Productions of Tosca

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