Giacomo Puccini: TOSCA

The story of the famous and fragile singer Tosca, the passionate painter Cavaradossi, and the sadistic police chief Scarpia, with Giacomo Puccini's captivating melodies that have become immortal.

When Giacomo Puccini first saw Victorien Sardou's play La Tosca in 1889, starring the world-famous French actress Sarah Bernhardt, he immediately recognized the subject as suitable for an operatic adaptation and asked his publisher Ricordi to obtain the rights from the author. However, it was another 10 long years before the score was completed and Tosca could be performed in Rome on 14 January 1900.

Tosca is a story of love, jealousy and passion, but also of torture and murder. Contemporary critics unanimously criticized this criminal political story about the abuse of power, which takes place in Rome during the Napoleonic Wars in 1800, for excessive naturalism, the pursuit of sensation and music that is painted in too thick colors. However, after its premiere at La Scala in Milan, only two months after the Roman premiere, Tosca set off on its triumphant journey through the stages of the world's opera houses and never disappeared from them again. To this day, we are attracted by the story of the famous and fragile singer Tosca, the passionate painter Cavaradossi and the sadistic police chief Scarpia, as well as the captivating melodies of Giacomo Puccini, which have become immortal.

The new production is directed by Anton Korenči, the costumes were prepared by Boris Hanečka, and the scenic design was created by Lucia Tallová. The main element of the scene is a monumental painting of a dramatic black sky from the “Clouds” series, which Lucia Tallová created especially for the opera Tosca and the State Theatre in Košice.

Location: National Theatre Historic Building