SYNOPSIS

ACT I – The Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle

 

In Rome, 1800, the escaped political prisoner Cesare Angelotti seeks refuge in a church, aided by his friend, the painter Mario Cavaradossi. Cavaradossi is working on a portrait of Mary Magdalene, whose resemblance to another woman has made his lover, the celebrated singer Floria Tosca, suspicious. When Tosca arrives, jealousy flares, but Cavaradossi reassures her of his devotion. As Angelotti hides, the chief of police, Baron Scarpia, enters. Ambitious and sadistic, Scarpia lusts after Tosca and suspects Cavaradossi of helping Angelotti. He manipulates Tosca’s jealousy and devotion, planting seeds of doubt to entrap both her and her lover.

 

ACT II – Scarpia’s Apartment in the Palazzo Farnese

 

That evening, Scarpia dines alone while Tosca performs at a royal gathering nearby. Cavaradossi has been arrested and brought in for questioning. Though tortured offstage, he refuses to betray Angelotti. Tosca arrives and, upon hearing her lover’s cries, breaks down and reveals Angelotti’s hiding place to save him. Scarpia offers Tosca a terrible bargain: her body in exchange for Cavaradossi’s life. Torn between love and revulsion, Tosca agrees—but only after Scarpia promises a mock execution for Cavaradossi and safe passage for him and Tosca to escape. As he approaches her to claim his reward, she stabs him to death with a knife.

 

ACT III – The Roof of the Castel Sant’Angelo

 

As dawn breaks, Cavaradossi awaits his execution. Tosca arrives with news of Scarpia’s death and instructs him on how to fake his execution so they can escape. But Scarpia has betrayed her—the bullets that shot Cavaradossi were real. When Tosca realizes he is dead, and that Scarpia’s men are coming for her, she throws herself from the battlements, choosing death over capture.