Tosca is a story of lust and crime, originally written for Sarah Bernhardt by the French playwright, Victorien Sardou. Puccini's genius lay in his remarkable ability to transform such a tale into an opera of the highest drama and passion.

Tosca was central to Puccini's career and revealed a new refinement and fluency in his work. Through Tosca, a drama of idealistic young love, Puccini was bidding farewell to young manhood, with melodic style and rousing passion.

This production of one of Puccini's best loved works from the magnificent Roman amphitheater in Verona features the outstanding performances of Eva Marton in the title role, with Ingvar Wixell as a superbly wicked Scarpia and Giacomo Aragall as the ill-fated Cavaradossi.