Tosca, Three Acts for a Roman Night in Tokyo

Rome, June 1800. Against the backdrop of the conflict between republicans and monarchists, Puccini’s Tosca unfolds as a theatrical mechanism in which love, jealousy and power collide over the course of just a few hours. From 28 January to 11 February 2027, the opera returns to the New National Theatre Tokyo in the production directed by Italian stage director Antonello Madau-Diaz, one of the theatre’s established repertoire productions. The staging recreates early 19th-century Rome through the three locations that mark the progression of the tragedy: the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle, Palazzo Farnese and Castel Sant’Angelo. Particularly striking is the Te Deum that closes the first act, where the solemnity of the religious ceremony accompanies Scarpia’s entrance and the beginning of his persecution of Cavaradossi and Tosca. Donato Renzetti conducts the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Carmen Giannattasio makes her New National Theatre debut as Floria Tosca, with Saimir Pirgu as Mario Cavaradossi and Dalibor Jenis as Scarpia. The New National Theatre Chorus completes the cast in a production featuring some of Puccini’s most celebrated arias, from Recondita armonia to Vissi d’arte and E lucevan le stelle. Six performances are scheduled at the Opera Palace. The opera is performed in Italian with Japanese and English surtitles.