With Saskatchewan’s first ever production of Tosca coming to the stage this weekend, we wanted to give our patrons a bit of break down of the story.
Its Rome, 1800, a city brimming with political intrigue and a suspicious amount of drama, our story kicks off. We’re in a church, no less, where the artist Mario Cavaradossi is finishing a painting. He’s a well-meaning fellow, but with a serious knack for attracting trouble. He’s hiding a political fugitive, Cesare Angelotti, an escaped consul who is, for a lack of a better word, a magnet for bad luck.
Enter Floria Tosca, a famous opera singer and Cavaradossi’s love interest. She’s a whirlwind of passion and, let’s be honest, a massive overthinker. She sees Cavaradossi’s painting, a depiction of Mary Magdalene, and immediately assumes he’s having a fling with a blonde woman. It doesn’t help that the painting is based on a real woman who frequents the church. Cavaradossi, with the patience of a saint, manages to calm her down, and they make plans for a romantic night out. A good idea? In this opera, that’s almost always a terrible idea.
Unbeknownst to our star-crossed lovers, the villain of our piece, Scarpia, the city’s corrupt Chief of Police, is watching. Scarpia is a total creep, a man with a serious power complex and a not-so-secret obsession with Tosca. He sees his chance to get what he wants and seizes it. He arrests Cavaradossi, suspecting him of aiding Angelotti, and the torture begins.
Our poor Tosca, forced to watch her beloved in agony, is a wreck. Scarpia, with a smug grin, tells her the pain will stop if she just reveals where Angelotti is hiding. She caves, betraying her friend for the love of her man. But Scarpia isn’t done with his twisted game. He offers her a deal: Cavaradossi’s life for…her. A chilling proposition that leaves Tosca in an impossible position.
She agrees, but she’s not one to be trifled with. She convinces Scarpia to write a safe-conduct pass for her and Cavaradossi, a document that will allow them to escape. And just as Scarpia is about to get his ‘reward,’ she plunges a dinner knife into his chest. “This is Tosca’s kiss!” she declares, in a classic diva move. She then carefully places a crucifix on his body and two candles on either side of his head, because even in a moment of bloody murder, one must have a sense of ceremony.
She rushes to Cavaradossi, safe-conduct pass in hand. They prepare for the escape, but not before a small matter of a firing squad. Scarpia promised it would be a fake execution, a bit of theatrical flair to make it look like Cavaradossi was a goner. But as we’ve learned, you can’t trust a corrupt police chief. The firing squad’s shots are all too real.
Tosca, now truly alone and with the police closing in, climbs to the top of Castel Sant’Angelo. With a final, dramatic declaration, she curses Scarpia and the world, and leaps to her death. The moral of the story? Never, ever, trust a villain with a bad mustache and a penchant for “fake” executions.
TL/DR:
Act I (Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle): An escaped political prisoner, Angelotti, hides in a church chapel. The painter Cavaradossi discovers him, offers help, and promises to hide him.
Act II (Palace): Scarpia, suspecting Cavaradossi of helping Angelotti, brings the distraught Tosca to him. He manipulates her jealousy, then orchestrates Cavaradossi’s capture and tortures him in her presence.
The Terrible Bargain: To save Cavaradossi, Tosca agrees to Scarpia’s condition: she must yield to him. Scarpia fakes Cavaradossi’s execution, giving Tosca a temporary pass.
Act III (Castel Sant’Angelo): When the execution turns out to be real, a desperate Tosca, fleeing Scarpia’s pursuing forces, throws herself from the Castel Sant’Angelo to her death.
