Tosca by Giacomo Puccini

Synopsis:

Act I: The Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle
Cesare Angelotti, the consul of the overthrown Roman republic, has escaped from the prison of Castel Sant’ Angelo.  He breathlessly enters the Church of Sant’ Andrea della Valle to find refuge.  He conceals himself in the chapel of his family, the Attavantis.  The old Sacristan enters and kneels at the sound of the Angelus.  Cavaradossi comes to work on his portrait of the Magdalene inspired by a woman he has seen praying in the Attavanti Chapel.  In rapturous phrases he compares her blonde loveliness with the darker beauty of his beloved Floria Tosca, the opera diva, whose portrait he holds in his hands.  The Sacristan grumbles at these worldly sentiments being expressed in church.

When the Sacristan leaves, Angelotti comes out of the chapel to greet Cavaradossi who was one of his supporters. At first Mario does not recognize him. Their joyous reunion is interrupted by the voice of Tosca. Angelotti conceals himself, and Cavaradossi unlocks the door which he had barred a moment before.  The singer is annoyed at having been kept waiting.  She suspects that Mario has had a woman with him.  He soothes her fears, and she asks him to join her at his country villa that evening. They sing of love they share. Tosca notices the canvas of the Magdalen and recognizes the lady as the Marchesa Attavanti. Her jealous nature imagines the worst, but Cavaradossi explains that he simply painted the lady while she was at prayer. Tosca agrees to let the painter continue his work, but before leaving adjures him to paint the eyes dark like her own rather than blue.

Angelotti comes from the chapel where he has found women’s clothing concealed for him there by the Marchesa Attavanti, his sister. Now Mario knows why the beautiful aristocrat has spent so much time in the chapel. Cavaradossi gives him the key to his villa but when cannon shots are heard they know the escape has been discovered, and Mario decides to accompany his friend to his home, swearing that they will fight for their cause together if need be.

The Sacristan enters with the choir.  He announces the defeat of Napoleon at Marengo. A great Te Deum will be sung and in the evening, a new cantata with Floria Tosca. The uproar of joy is silenced upon the entry of the Baron Scarpia, the chief of police, and his agents.  Their search for the escaped prisoner has led them to the church. Scarpia sees the portrait and asks the Sacristan about it. He knows the painter Cavaradossi as a possible Bonapartist and the lover of Tosca. He finds a fan bearing the Attavanti’s crest.

An empty food basket found in the chapel explains the sequence of events for Scarpia and, when the voice of Tosca is heard calling for her lover, a plan forms in his mind to annihilate his prey and possess Tosca. He shows her the fan with the Attavanti crest, thus igniting flames of jealousy. When she leaves, he orders his henchmen to follow her. The voices of the choir and congregation rise, singing the Te Deum, as Scarpia gloats over his plan. He vows to crush Cavaradossi in the vice-like grip of his power and have Tosca in his arms.

Act II: Palazzo Farnese
Above the royal apartments in the Farnese Palace, Scarpia contemplates the joys of possessing a woman like Tosca—joys made even more exhilarating by the fact that she detests him. The spy Spoletta enters to report that Angelotti has not been found, but, to avoid the wrath of Scarpia, hastily adds that they have brought Cavaradossi for questioning. As the interview begins, the voice of Tosca is heard from outside the window in the strains of the cantata. Tosca, ordered to come to Scarpia’s apartment after the performance, is shocked to find Mario there.

The painter is taken into the next room which is a torture chamber. His refusals to tell the whereabouts of Angelotti are followed by groans that torment Tosca, and, when she catches a glimpse of her lover’s agony, she confesses the hiding place. When Cavaradossi is brought back into the room he cries out in fury and pain at her betrayal, but at that moment Sciarrone rushes in to announce the defeat of General Melas by Napoleon’s troops. Mario exults defiantly over the victory and is dragged away to prison and imminent execution.

Left alone with Tosca, Scarpia lets the lady know of his willingness to bargain for her lover’s life, but the final price, he proclaims with passionate excitement, can only be Tosca herself. She recoils in horror, begs, prays to God, but finally, after she’s been forced to watch the building of the gallows for her lover from a window and Spoletta has announced Angelotti’s suicide, she consents.  Scarpia changes the sentence to a mock execution which he explains to Spoletta is to be carried out just like that of Count Palmieri. After the spy has left, Tosca demands a passport for herself and her lover. While Scarpia is writing the document, Tosca finds a knife on the table and, when the Baron rushes to her to claim his prize, she plunges it into him. She takes the document from his lifeless fingers, places candles by the corpse and a crucifix on his chest, and rushes into the night.

Act III: Castel Sant’Angelo
From the roof of the Castel Sant’ Angelo the voice of a shepherd boy is heard before dawn and then the churches all over the city toll the early Sunday morning hour. Cavaradossi is led in to await his execution. He offers his last possession, a ring, to the jailer if he will deliver a letter to Tosca. The jailer agrees and Cavaradossi writes and muses that only the love for his Floria makes it difficult to leave this world. Suddenly Tosca arrives and explains the events of the last hours. Mario caresses the hand that bore the blood of Scarpia for his sake. She explains the mock execution and together they face the dawn of the day and speak of their new life together.  When the firing squad advances, Tosca, with some glee, stages her lover’s death. The soldiers fire and, after a moment, Tosca goes to untie Cavaradossi’s hands only to discover that he is dead. Scarpia’s murder has been discovered and soldiers rush in to arrest Tosca. She runs to the parapet and proclaims, “Scarpia, we will meet before God,” then plunges to her death.