Tosca

Puccini's Tosca takes place over eighteen hours in Rome in June 1800, and the events are precise enough to follow on a map. A painter named Cavaradossi is hiding a political fugitive from the authorities. The corrupt chief of police, Baron Scarpia, wants the fugitive — and wants the opera singer Floria Tosca badly enough to offer a trade: spend the night with him, and Cavaradossi goes free. Tosca agrees. Then she makes another decision. The opera moves like a thriller, the arias are among the most famous in Italian opera, and the three central roles — baritone, soprano, tenor — rank among the most demanding in the repertoire. Vissi d'arte, the aria Tosca sings while asking God why he is permitting this, changes nothing. She gets no answer. The opera proceeds.