I first saw Puccini's opera at the English National Opera but it's Jonathan Kent's ROH production that I have now seen twice.
TOSCA made it's London debut in 1900 at Covent Garden and Puccini's tragic, headstrong heroine has appeared practically every year since then, apart from during the World Wars.
We follow one day in the lives of diva Floria Tosca, her Republican lover Caravadossi and their nemesis Chief of Police Scarpia in the dangerous atmosphere of Rome, 1800 as Napoleon's army advances.
Kent's production plays like a runaway train with the late Paul Brown's sumptious sets and costumes, and Mark Henderson's atmospheric lighting adding wonders.
In Jonathan Haswell's film, Tosca is vibrantly sung by Angela Gheorghiu, Jonas Kaufmann is an impassioned Caravadossi and Bryn Terfel is a deliously evil Scarpia.
Shelf or charity shop? A definite keeper to relive the passion and the pure emotion of Puccini's score in Jonathan Kent's thrilling production. A special mention must go to the glorious playing of the Royal Opera House orchestra under the baton of Antonio Pappino.
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