La Tosca
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La Tosca is a five-act dramatic play by Victorien Sardou, first produced in Paris in 1887, with Sarah Bernhardt in the title role.
The New York revival with Bernhardt in 1900 was also well received.
The play is set in Rome in mid-June 1800, against the background of the historical events then occurring (see ref 1 & 2, and Battle of Marengo (1800)).
As in the opera, the principal characters are
- Floria Tosca, a singer
- Mario Cavaradossi, her lover, an artist
- Baron Scarpia, the head of the Secret Police
Sardou's text was the basis of the opera Tosca (1900) by Giacomo Puccini. Verdi had earlier expressed a desire to set the text, but only if the ending were changed. Puccini initially also attempted to get Sardou to amend the 'abrupt' final scene, but without success.
[edit] Reference
http://www.operapaedia.org/Opera.aspx?article=1133&id=4011 Plot of play
http://opera.stanford.edu/Puccini/Tosca/backgd.html (gives background to the opera mainly)
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