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THE ROYAL OPERA
Music Director
Director of Opera
Generous philanthropic support from Julia and Hans Rausing
Libretto Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica after Victorien Sardou’s play La Tosca
Tosca
Melodramma in Three Acts
18.12.2022 3:00 PM
APPROXIMATE TIMINGS
GUIDANCE
This production contains depictions of violence, sexual assault and implied torture. There are gunshots in Act III.
CREDITS
CAST
Josef Jeongmeen Ahn is a Jette Parker Artist
Soldiers, Priests, Police Agents, Noble Ladies and Gentlemen
Actors Peter Benton, Peter Cooney, Kris Dillon, Rain De Rye Barrett, Kyle Harrison-Pope, Basil Patton, Jason Sabin, Daniel Swan, Josh Thompson, Charlie Venables
The singing boys are from The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School
Extra Chorus
Sopranos Maryana Bodnar, Janet Fairlie, Celeste Gattai, Siobhain Gibson, Shafali Jalota, Vanessa Woodfine
Mezzo-sopranos Jeanette Ager, Maria Brown, Maria Jones, Clare McCaldin, Jennifer Westwood
Tenors Simon Biazeck, Philip Brown, Richard Monk, Richard Reaville
Basses Oliver Gibbs, Gavin Horsley, Simon Preece, Aidan Smith
SYNOPSIS
ACT I
Cesare Angelotti, a Consul of the former Roman Republic, has escaped prison and seeks refuge in the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle. The painter Mario Cavaradossi, a Republican sympathizer working in the church, promises to help him. Angelotti hides as Cavaradossi’s lover Floria Tosca arrives. The lovers’ meeting reveals Tosca’s passionate love and jealousy. When Tosca has gone, Cavaradossi instructs Angelotti to dress in the disguise left for him, and hide at Cavaradossi’s villa. Baron Scarpia arrives at the church. He suspects Cavaradossi of hiding Angelotti. When Tosca returns, Scarpia uses a fan left by Angelotti to make her believe that Cavaradossi is having an affair. Tosca leaves for Cavaradossi’s villa, and Scarpia instructs his assistant Spoletta to follow her and track down Angelotti.
INTERVAL
ACT II
Scarpia has arrested Cavaradossi. He summons Tosca to his apartment, and forces her to listen as Cavaradossi is tortured in the next room. Tosca reveals Angelotti’s hiding place. Scarpia condemns Cavaradossi to death but tells Tosca that he will free her lover if she will offer herself to him. In agony, Tosca agrees and Scarpia tells her he will arrange a mock execution. As Scarpia embraces Tosca, she fatally stabs him.
INTERVAL
ACT III
As dawn approaches, Cavaradossi waits for his execution at the top of the Castel Sant’Angelo. Tosca arrives and tells him what she has done. She instructs him on how to pretend to die in the mock execution. When the soldiers shoot, Tosca is impressed with her lover’s acting. But Scarpia has double-crossed her and Cavaradossi really is dead. As Spoletta’s men arrive to arrest her for Scarpia’s murder, she leaps from the battlements to her death.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Edward Reeve and Eleanor Burke are Jette Parker Artists
THE ROYAL OPERA
Patron
Music Director
Director of Opera
Director of Casting
Administrative Director
DIGITAL CAST SHEETS
We are working to make the Royal Opera House more sustainable. To do this, some of the ways in which we share information have changed, including cast sheets.
You can view the digital cast sheets on a computer, tablet or smartphone. You can also download and print the digital cast sheet. Check the digital cast sheet for the most up-to-date information before the performance starts, during the interval, or after the performance day.
Scan the QR codes displayed around the building with a smartphone to view the latest digital cast sheets. The cast sheets are also displayed on screens outside the auditoria.
Cast sheets generously supported by the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund.
GUIDELINES
Photography and filming are prohibited during performances in any of our auditoriums. You are welcome to take pictures throughout the rest of the building and before performances and share them with us through social media. Commercial photography and filming must be agreed in advance with our press team.
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Please do not place any personal belongings on the ledges in front of you.
Only bottled water and ice cream purchased from the premises can be taken into the auditorium.
If you arrive late to the auditorium or leave during a performance, you will not be allowed back to your seat until the interval or a suitable break.
Smoking and vaping are not permitted anywhere on the premises.
The safety of our visitors, staff and artists is still our priority. There are hand sanitiser stations throughout the building. To help us provide a comfortable experience for everyone, please be mindful of others and their personal space.
Our staff are committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect and we ask that you show them and your fellow audience members respect too. We adopt a zero-tolerance approach in response to anyone who interacts with our staff or with fellow audience members in an intimidating, aggressive or threatening manner.
SUPPORT OUR ONGOING RECOVERY
We are so glad to welcome our artists back to our theatres to perform for you the opera and ballet you love. During the pandemic we lost £3 in every £5 of our income and we continue to feel the impact as we recover. Sustaining the future of ballet and opera has never been so important. Please consider making a donation to the Royal Opera House community today and help support the future of ballet and opera.