Tosca, Royal Opera live screening

When Puccini's opera Tosca was first performed in Rome in 1900, one American critic dismissed it as 'a shabby little shocker'. Just shows how wrong critics can be.... Today it is one of the most performed and best loved operas in the repertoire. And with good reason.

The story of Floria Tosca, an opera singer in a volatile Rome, is thrilling from start to finish. Pursued by Scarpia, a dangerous chief of police, she is cornered when her painter lover Cavaradossi is at risk. What follows includes one of the most chilling twists in all opera.

At the Royal Opera House, the production by Jonathan Kent, last staged in 2019, revels in the majestic of Rome but also focuses on the tense dynamics between the lovers and between the singer and the tyrant. Oksana Lyniv conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House.

Tosca gets her revenge in Puccini's opera

Performances at Covent Garden are from 5 Dec to 22 Feb, and tickets are available now. But on 15 Dec the opera is screened live at cinemas across the capital.

The cast that night includes Russian soprano Elena Stikhina as Floria Tosca, American tenor Bryan Hymel as Mario Cavaradossi, and Russian baritone Alexey Markov as Baron Scarpia. Encore screenings will run from Wed 19 Jan.

Very highly recommended.

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Tosca is sung in Italian with English subtitles