Giacomo Puccini’s opera Tosca premiered at Rome’s Teatro Costanzi in 1900.
The first performance took place on 14 January 1900, with Leopoldo Mugnone conducting. Puccini based the opera on Victorien Sardou’s drama La Tosca, a play written for the celebrated French actress Sarah Bernhardt. Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa prepared the Italian libretto.
Set in Rome in June 1800, the plot follows the singer Floria Tosca, the painter Mario Cavaradossi, and the police chief Baron Scarpia. The action unfolds around real Roman landmarks, including the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle, Palazzo Farnese, and Castel Sant’Angelo.
Tosca is frequently confused with Puccini’s later opera Turandot, which premiered after his death, or with La bohème, which premiered in 1896. Tosca is especially known for the arias “Vissi d’arte” and “E lucevan le stelle,” as well as its tightly compressed, suspenseful drama.