It’s so effective that Sardou himself thought the trimming was an improvement over his own work. Much of that Gallic reason is swept away in the Italian opera’s three acts, with protagonists clashing in spontaneous explosions, propelling the plot to its climax. The source is a play written for the legendary Sarah Bernhardt by Victorien Sardou in five acts and elaborately prepared with backstory and corroborative detail. This tragedy is straightforward enough on the surface: The revolutionary painter Cavaradossi and his lover, the tempestuous diva Tosca, are in a life-and-death struggle with the evil police chief Scarpia, who wants to kill him and possess her, all of it unfolding in 12 hours starting on the afternoon of June 17th, 1800, during Napoleon’s invasion of Italy. No one ignores her, even if many denounce her baleful influence. Yet everyone talks about her, and everyone wants something from her. She’s opera’s version of that girl in school - the one they warn you about, whose company will cast doubt on your taste in friends.

You know the title character of Tosca, either personally or by hearsay.

Tosca opera scenes