Tosca

She lived for love. On this desperate day, can she find the strength to kill for it?

Three ominous chords ring out of the orchestra pit and the mood is set. On stage, the soaring marble columns are brilliant with light, but somewhere out of sight, a shadow looms.

A runaway prisoner bursts into the chapel and the opera takes off: a gripping tale of love, lust and betrayal unfolding at breakneck pace.

Tosca has everything: a real and worldly love, an extraordinary heroine and the greatest villain in all of opera.

Puccini’s evocative music intensifies the emotion at every turn. Combined with John Bell’s thoughtful production set in Nazi-occupied Rome, the effect is “epic, absorbing and shattering” (The Sydney Morning Herald — ★★★★½).

Tosca’s dramatic music demands powerhouse performers. Sensational young conductor Andrea Battistoni leads a brilliant cast. Carmen Giannattasio makes her Opera Australia debut as Floria Tosca, a role coveted for its vast dramatic arc and show-stopping aria, ‘Vissi d’arte’. Diego Torre reprises his passionate Cavaradossi. Marco Vratogna, renowned for his villains, returns as Scarpia.

See it if you like: WWII films with a good romance thrown in, breathtaking sets, dramatic stories with music to match.

Presented by Opera Australia.