On Friday 2nd July at 9pm (session A), Tosca is staged at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, for the 2010 Opera and Ballet Season; melodrama in three acts with libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on from the dramatic play La Tosca by Victorien Sardou, and with music by Giacomo Puccini, in a production by the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

Two prestigious casts alternate for the performances: Anda-Louise Bogza/Maria Billeri (5th, 9th) (Floria Tosca); Roberto Aronica/Rudy Park (5th, 9th) (Mario Cavaradossi); Giorgio Surian/Angelo Veccia (5th, 9th, 10th) (Baron Scarpia); Alessandro Guerzoni (Cesare Angelotti); Marco Camastra (A Sacristan); Carlo Bosi (Spoletta); Francesco Musinu (Sciarrone); Alessandro Perucca (A jailer); Alessandra Mei (A shepherd).

Mario Pontiggia, well-known and praised producer and artistic director of the Las Palmas Opera House Gran Canaria directs the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino production, which dates back to October 2008. Francesco Zito, is responsible for the elegant and traditional set and costumes, and Alfonso Malanda Rodrìguez for the lighting design.

Alexander Vedernikov, musical director at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, who has already opened the last two Cagliari Opera and Ballet Seasons, and conducted numerous symphonic concerts, conducts the Teatro Lirico Orchestra, the Chorus and the Junior Chorus. The chorus master is Fulvio Fogliazza. The junior chorus master is Enrico Di Maira.

A welcome return for the Cagliari public of the famous and loved melodrama by Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 1858 - Brussels, 1924), first performed at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14th January 1900: the opera is rich in strongly coloured stage effects, realistic details, natural passions expressed by energetic tunes and impetuous melodies, and it is undoubtedly one of the most performed and popular of the verist repertoire. Alongside the two main characters, Tosca and Cavaradossi, the figure of Scarpia emerges, the driving force of the drama, the first large role written by Puccini for a baritone voice.

Understanding the libretto is essential in Tosca, as it is full of details and references including specific historical events such as siege of Genoa (4th June 1800) and above all the battle of Marengo (14th June 1800). To ease understanding surtitles will be shown above the proscenium, as is custom at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari.

The story is set in Rome in June 1800, and takes place over just one day at three famous and charming monuments: the Basilica di Sant’Andrea della Valle (act I), Palazzo Farnese (act II) and Castel Sant’Angelo (act III). The passionate, sincere love that unites the celebrated singer Floria Tosca, and Mario Cavaradossi, painter with republican ideals, is used by Baron Scarpia, head of the police, to his advantage (“L'uno al capestro, l'altra fra le mie braccia...”, act I). A tale of jealousy and deception ensues leading irremediably to a tragic conclusion: after signing Cavaradossi’s death sentence, Scarpia is stabbed by Tosca, who throws herself from Castel Sant’Angelo after witnessing the mock/real execution of her lover.

Tosca was first performed at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari in June 2001, is also performed on the following dates, at 9pm, Sunday 4th July (session D), Monday 5th July (session F), Thursday 8th July (session C), Friday 9th July (session G), Saturday 10th July (session E) and Monday 12th July (session B).