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.
3hr. Incl. 2 intervals.
1st July, 2024
13th December, 2024
Ages 12+.
Location: West End
Railway station: Charing Cross
Bus numbers: (Aldwych) RV1, 6, 11, 13, 23, 59, 68, 87, 171, 172, 188, X68
Night bus numbers: (Aldwych) 6, 23, 188, N11, N13, N26, N47, N68, N87, N89, N155, N171, N551
Car park: Drury Lane, Parker Street (7mins)
Directions from tube: (3 mins) The Royal Opera House is off Covent Garden piazza, which is visible from the tube station exit. There is a revolving door entrance at the piazza.
In her much-anticipated debut with The Royal Opera, conductor Eun Sun Kim leads Jonathan Kent’s ‘handsome period staging’ (Guardian) for the 2024/25 Season. Sonya Yoncheva makes a welcome return in the passionate title role of Puccini’s sweeping opera, alongside SeokJong Baek as Cavaradossi and Bryn Terfel as Scarpia.
Tosca runs for 3hr. Incl. 2 intervals.
Tosca is at London's Royal Opera House, which is located at Bow St, London, WC2E 9DD.
Tosca tickets start at £60.
Ages 12+.
Check the top of this page for current availability and exclusive offers on Tosca tickets on TodayTix.
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