Tosca

Synopsis

It is the eve of the Battle of Marengo. Napoleon's army has caused chaos and disarray throughout all Italy. Against this background of political turmoil stands Floria Tosca, Rome's famous and most beautiful opera singer. To save her lover, Cavaradossi, she must sacrifice her virtue to the evil Baron Scarpia. Can the power of love and honour ever prevail against the forces of corruption and betrayal? Tosca is a moving and passionate exploration of personal freedom, the cost of ideals and the choices forced on us by love.

Our Review:

10 July 2009

At the heart of Puccini’s lean, mean tale is the clash between virtue and evil. Scarpia, Rome’s monstrous Chief of Police, presses the devout Tosca to reveal the whereabouts of an escaped political prisoner, Angelotti. Scarpia’s tactics are brutal: he subjects Tosca’s beloved Cavaradossi to torture, within her earshot, in order to wheedle the information from one or other of them. The lady it is who falters, but she then achieves an ambivalent redemption by stabbing Scarpia to death. In Act Three we discover that the devil has a long arm, and he doesn’t deal in happy endings.

The stars are shining brightly in this, the third revival of Jonathan Kent’s production. Bryn Terfel and Angela Gheorghiu return to it for the first time since the 2006 launch, and their performances are incandescent. Gheorghiu’s Tosca is intelligent in her compassion and sexy in her vulnerability. Her devotional sincerity allows Vissi d’arte to emerge na...

Read more of the review

Latest User Review

Gary Mills, Witham Essex - 15 July 2009:

Excellent...

Read more and add your own review