TOSCA / PROGRAM / Bastille / November 2025 / March 2026

Description

To sacrifice herself to the man she hates in order to save the man she loves: this is the terrible bargain that police chief Scarpia forces opera singer Floria Tosca, in love with painter Mario Cavaradossi, to make. The dilemma is set against the backdrop of Rome's political situation in 1800, with the Republicans' progressive aspirations running counter to monarchical rule.

Inspired by Victorien Sardou's play, La Tosca became one of Giacomo Puccini's most famous operas as of its premiere in 1900, to the point of becoming the very symbol of operatic art.

At the peak of his maturity, the composer delivered a masterly score in which tension reigns from the very first chords. In his staging, dominated by a huge cross, Pierre Audi underlines the implacable hold of the Church which, through its complicity with the powers that be, grinds the characters' destinies to shreds.