Giacomo Puccini // Tosca

The point of Puccini's Tosca is not that it is set in Rome or in the summer of 1800. The dilemmas, emotions, and shocking plot twists make the piece interesting. Equally important to the story is the frame of a totalitarian regime where the chief of police can do as he pleases: he can capture without warrant, unlawfully torture, imprison without trial, and execute without verdict whomever he wants. The opera showcases the bravery, faithfulness, and inevitable tragedy of the singer Tosca and the painter Mario, for which a setting of Budapest in the 50's, when the Opera House itself became a spot of events of dictatorship and cult of personality, is a perfect analogy. This production of Tosca does not have any obvious symbols or historic figures, but the suffocating air of this dark era is palpable: innocent and harmless artists had to die just like they had in the world of the fictional Baron Scarpia.