Tosca

When the revolutionary and painter Mario Cavaradossi secretly attempts to help a political fugitive to escape the city of Rome, his lover, the famed singer Floria Tosca, believes he is cheating on her with another woman. Her jealousy is exploited by Scarpia, the unscrupulous chief of police, in order to help him capture Cavaradossi. Scarpia then makes Tosca an offer: if she gives herself to him for one night, he will release her lover. With compelling dramaturgy and pronounced realism, Puccini created one of his tersest and most dramatic works – a milestone in the history of opera. The story is set in 1800 during the clashes between Napoleon’s Revolutionary Army and the Habsburg and papal troops, events that hang fatefully over the characters in the opera. Against this backdrop, Puccini’s music transports listeners to the heart of Rome: to the Sant’Andrea della Valle church, the Palazzo Farnese and the Castel Sant’Angelo, each of which is given a distinctive tonal colouring. The production by Latvian theatre director Alvis Hermanis moves the action to 1900, the year of the opera’s premiere. In his version, the singers are embedded in a psychologically rich narrative. The plot is accompanied by a lavishly designed graphic novel created by stage and costume designer Kristīne Jurjāne. The novel, which takes place in Rome on 17 and 18 June 1800 (the opera’s original setting), is projected onto a backdrop depicting sumptuous, monumental architecture.