- Cast change: Owing to health reasons Maria Agresta will unfortunately not be coming to Wiesbaden. Carmen Giannattasio will be appear as Tosca in both performances.
In a letter to his librettist Giuseppe Giacosa, Giacomo Puccini wrote: "Until now we were gentle, now we want to be cruel." His politically charged opera "Tosca" is set in Rome around 1800, where the revolutionary painter Mario Cavaradossi comes into conflict with the unscrupulous chief of police Scarpia. Cavaradossi's lover, the singer Floria Tosca, has dedicated her life to art, but reality will cruelly disappoint her. By the time she realises she has betrayed Cavaradossi, it is too late: a duel ensues between Tosca and Scarpia, who has his eye on Tosca. As Tosca hears Cavaradossi being tortured in a back room, Scarpia offers her a choice: if she lets him force her to love him, he will not execute Cavaradossi. After all, "Tosca" is not only about the struggle for freedom in a totalitarian police state, but also about erotic passion. But the ideals of love and freedom die under the brutal grip of power.
Puccini's stirring music brings to life the tragedy of human passions colliding with systems of oppression. From the dramatic "Te deum" to Cavaradossi's great aria "E lucevan le stelle" and Tosca's leap from the Castel Sant'Angelo, this opera is full of unforgettable moments. Under the musical direction of Oksana Lyniv, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna's production at the International May Festival features an outstanding cast.