TOSCA Comes to the National Theatre in Prague Next Month

The singer Floria Tosca, who is even invited to the royal court, and the painter Mario Cavaradossi are respected and adored artists, yet their standing does not safeguard them against the malicious police chief Baron Scarpia. Cavaradossi dies not only because he, a Voltairean, tries to save the life of Cesare Angelotti, the former Consul of the Roman Republic, but also for being Tosca’s lover, Scarpia’s rival. Giacomo Puccini had mulled over Victorien Sardou’s La Tosca ever since 1889, when he saw in Milan a performance of the drama, starring the celebrated actress Sarah Bernhardt. 

The world premiere of his opera, in 1900 in Rome, was a resounding success, even though some did scorn it, including Gustav Mahler, who referred to it as a “Meistermachwerk” (sham masterpiece), and Richard Strauss, who dismissed it in even harsher terms. Today, the opera about the diva Tosca, the painter Cavaradossi and the police chief Baron Scarpia, set in 1800 in Italy during the time of Napoleon’s war against Austria, is one of the most frequently performed operas worldwide. 

The State Opera adaptation features Josef Svoboda’s legendary 1947 scenery, with dramatically inclined, diffusely illuminated painted sets, which in June 1999 was reproduced by Daniel Dvořák, a pupil     of Svoboda’s and the then director of the State Opera Prague. The faithful copy, made by means of state-of-the-art technologies, contributed to the enormous popularity of the production.

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