Tosca Synopsis
It is the year 1800, and Italy is in chaos. The Pope has fled Rome after Napoleon’s forces took control of the Eternal City and established a Republic. However, with help from their southern neighbors, an oppressive government—closely aligned with the Church—oversees Rome once more.
ACT I
The political activist and former leader of the Republic, Angelotti, escapes from the prison fortress of the Castel Sant’Angelo and finds refuge in the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle. After finding a key his sister left for him which opens the family chapel, Angelotti barely escapes the notice of the old, curmudgeonly Sacristan who is charged with helping a young painter refurbish one of the side chapels.
Soon the dashing, liberal painter Mario Cavaradossi enters to work on his portrait of Mary Magdalene based on a likeness of Angelotti’s sister, the Marchesa Attavanti. Cavaradossi compares her fair beauty to that of his dark-haired lover, the charismatic diva Floria Tosca (“Recondita armonia”). After the sacristan leaves the artist to his work, Angelotti recognizes his colleague, Cavaradossi, and emerges from his hiding place. He is given food by Cavaradossi who rushes him back into hiding as Tosca enters. She jealously questions Cavaradossi before praying to the Madonna and setting up their rendezvous for later that evening. Once she leaves, Cavaradossi addresses Angelotti, and the two friends—learning that the police have discovered Angelotti’s escape—flee to Mario’s villa.
Meanwhile, the Sacristan returns. He calls the choir to the nave to tell them that Napoleon’s forces have been defeated, and a festive Te Deum and gala at the Palazzo Farnese will be given to celebrate this military and political victory. Their excitement is cut short by Baron Scarpia, the imposing chief of the secret police, who is searching for the escaped convict, Angelotti. After finding several clues that connect Cavaradossi to Angelotti, Scarpia decides he can use Tosca to find the fugitive and win the heart of the famous singer for himself.
When Tosca reenters to tell Cavaradossi that she now must sing the festive cantata, Scarpia plays to her jealousy, revealing a fan with the Attavanti crest. She swears vengeance on Cavaradossi and storms out as the church fills with communicants. Scarpia orders his men to follow her, like a falcon leading them to their prey. With the Te Deum taking place around him, Scarpia fantasizes about his carnal love of Tosca (“Va Tosca!”).
INTERMISSION
ACT II
From his opulent office in the Palazzo Farnese, Scarpia plans how he will manipulate Tosca to serve his political and sexual ambitions. Scarpia’s henchman Spoletta, having failed to locate Angelotti, brings in Cavaradossi; Scarpia questions him while Tosca can be heard singing a cantata in a ballroom below. She enters as her lover is being removed for more forceful interrogation. Unable to endure his tortured screams, she divulges Angelotti’s hiding place, and the battered Cavaradossi is carried back in. Realizing that Tosca has “talked,” he denounces her. But when an officer interrupts to announce that Napoleon has defeated Scarpia’s allies in the Battle of Marengo, Cavaradossi’s bitterness turns to exultant cries of “Vittoria!” and he is dragged off to prison as a traitor.
Alone with Tosca, Scarpia flatters her and suggests that her lover’s life and freedom are in her hands: If she simply submits herself to Scarpia, her Cavaradossi will be spared. Tosca fends off his advances and turns to God in her despair (“Vissi d’arte”). Spoletta interrupts the standoff to announce that Angelotti, faced with capture, has killed himself. Cornered and without options, Tosca gives in to Scarpia. He pretends to order a mock execution and sends Spoletta away to carry out his wishes. But as Scarpia jots a safe-conduct for Cavaradossi and Tosca, the desperate, resourceful Tosca kills him, removing the safe-conduct from his grasp as he dies. Placing candles at his head and a crucifix on his chest, she leaves to save Cavaradossi at the Castel Sant’Angelo.
INTERMISSION
ACT III
The lone voice of a shepherd boy greets the dawn as Mario awaits his execution at the Castel Sant’Angelo. He bribes the jailer to give a farewell note to Tosca. Gloom overwhelms him as he writes (“E lucevan le stelle”) until Tosca rushes in, excitedly recounting her escape from Scarpia. Mario caresses the hands that killed for his sake (“O dolci mani”) and the two hail their future. As the firing squad appears, Tosca – ever the star—advises Mario on how to fake his death convincingly. The soldiers fire and depart. Tosca urges Mario to hurry, but when he remains motionless, she sees that Scarpia has outmaneuvered her one last time: the bullets were real. As Spoletta rushes in to arrest Tosca for the murder of Scarpia, she leaps to her death from the castle’s parapet.