REFERENCE: MUSIC - Opera – ‘Tosca’ by Giacomo Puccini

Tosca: opera in 3 acts, libretto by Luigi Illica (prose text) and Giuseppe Giacosa (verses), based on Victorien Sardou's play of the same name, music by Giacomo Puccini, first performed 14th January 1900 at the Teatro Costanzi, Rome

Tosca is special, the background, the protagonists, etc. I have at least nine different editions but the best one for me is the one performed by Mirella Freni. Unfortunately on this version Cavaradossi is played by Pavaroti (I don’t like him at all). Well doesn’t matter, Freni is just perfect! Chicken skin on my entire body listening the following scene:

Scarpia
Tosca, finalmente mia!... (but the voluptuous accent is changed in a terrible cry - Tosca has hit a knife in his chest)
(screaming)
Maledetta!

Tosca (screaming)
Questo è il bacio di Tosca!

Scarpia (with choke’s voice)
Aiuto! muoio! (Scarpia spreads the arm towards Tosca approaching itself staggering him aid action. Tosca escapes him but all at once it is found taken between Scarpia and the table and, seeing that it is in order to be touched. Scarpia falls)
Soccorso! Muoio!

Tosca (with hatred to Scarpia)
Ti soffoca il sangue?
(Scarpia is debated uselessly and tried to raise himself, grabbing hold of to the canapè)
E ucciso da una donna! M'hai assai torturata!... Odi tu ancora? Parla!... Guardami!... Son Tosca!... O Scarpia!

Scarpia (ago a last effort, then falls reversed)
(suffocated)
Soccorso, aiuto!
(suffocated)
Muoio!

Tosca (folding herself on thef ace of Scarpia)
Muori dannato! Muori, Muori! (Scarpia remains rigid)
È morto! Or gli perdono!
(keeping her eyes on Scarpia’s corpse, she goes to the table, takes a water bottle and soaking a napkin one washes the fingers, then arrange the hats watching herself to the mirror and therefore she tries the salvacondotto on the bureau; not finding it. tries on the bureau, but she does not find it; she still tries, finally sees the salvacondotto in the Scarpia’s hand. She raises the arm of Scarpia, than then it leaves to fall inert, after to have removed the salvacondotto that he hides in chest.)
E avanti a lui tremava tutta Roma!