Tosca 2012
Is this the perfect opera?
See why so many enthusiasts say yes — with its unique combination of passion, politics, and a classic love triangle inflamed by the Napoleonic wars and Puccini’s irresistible music. Then there is Floria Tosca herself, the ultimate diva. Bewitched by her glamour and charisma, even foes call her la divina.
Synopsis
Act I
On the run from secret police and political enemies, the activist Angelotti rushes into the Church of Sant’ Andrea della Valle, hiding as the comical old Sacristan busies himself. Soon the dashing painter Cavaradossi enters to work on his portrait of Mary Magdalene based on a likeness of Angelotti’s sister, the Marchesa Attavanti. Cavaradossi compares her dark beauty to that of his fairer lover, the charismatic diva Floria Tosca (“Recondita armonia”). Angelotti emerges and is given food by his friend Cavaradossi, who rushes him back into hiding as Tosca calls out. She jealously questions Cavaradossi before praying, then reminds him they are to meet that evening.Once she leaves, he signals Angelotti to emerge from the chapel and the two friends, learning that the police have discovered Angelotti’s escape, flee to Mario’s villa.
Meanwhile, the Sacristan returns with choirboys who are to sing a Te Deum that day. Their excitement is cut short by Baron Scarpia, feared chief of the secret police, searching for Angelotti. When Tosca reappears, Scarpia plays to her jealousy, revealing a fan with the Attavanti crest. She swears vengeance on Cavaradossi and storms out as the church fills with worshipers. Scarpia orders his men to follow her to Angelotti’s hideout; then, with the chanting chorus in procession behind him, Scarpia fantasizes aloud about sexually entrapping Tosca. His reverie continues until he suddenly remembers he is in church (“Va,Tosca!”).
Act II
From his opulent office in the Palazzo Farnese, Scarpia plans how he will manipulate Tosca to serve his political and sexual ambitions. Scarpia’s henchman Spoletta, having failed to locate Angelotti, brings in Cavaradossi; Scarpia questions him while Tosca can be heard singing a cantata elsewhere in the palace. She enters as her lover is being removed for more forceful interrogation. Unable to endure his screams, she divulges Angelotti’s hiding place and the battered Cavaradossi is carried back in; realizing that Tosca has “talked,” he denounces her. But when an officer interrupts to announce that Napoleon has defeated Scarpia’s allies in the Battle of Marengo, Cavaradossi’s bitterness turns to exultant cries of “Vittoria!” and he is dragged off to prison.
Finally alone with Tosca, Scarpia flatters her beauty and suggests that her lover’s life and freedom are in her hands. Tosca fends off his advances, turning to God in her despair (“Vissi d’arte”). Spoletta interrupts the standoff to announce that Angelotti, faced with capture, has killed himself. Cornered and without options, Tosca relents to Scarpia. He pretends to order a mock execution and sends Spoletta out, then jots a safe-conduct for Cavaradossi and Tosca. But the desperate, resourceful Tosca, kills him and removes the safe-conduct from his grasp as he dies. Placing candles at his head and a crucifix on his chest, she leaves.
Act III
The lone voice of a shepherd boy greets the dawn as Mario awaits execution at the Castel Sant’Angelo. He bribes the jailer to slip a farewell note to Tosca. Gloom overwhelms him as he writes (“E lucevan le stelle”) until Tosca rushes in, excitedly recounting her escape from Scarpia. Mario caresses the hands that killed for his sake (“O dolci mani”) and the two hail their future. As the firing squad appears, Tosca — ever the star — advises Mario on how to fake his death convincingly. The soldiers fire and depart. Tosca urges Mario to hurry, but when he remains motionless, she sees that Scarpia has outmaneuvered her one last time: the bullets were real. As Spoletta rushes in to arrest Tosca, she cries out to Scarpia to meet her before God, then leaps to her death from the castle’s parapet.
Artists
Amanda Echalaz
Soprano
Floria Tosca
Amanda Echalaz
Hometown: Durban, South Africa
SFO Debut:
Floria Tosca, Tosca, 2012
Past Seasons:
Prima Donna/Ariadne, Ariadne auf Naxos, 2018
Raymond Aceto
Bass
Baron Scarpia (June 29 - August 8)
Raymond Aceto
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
SFO Debut:
Sparafucile, Rigoletto, 2000
Past Seasons:
Arkel, Pelléas et Mélisande, 2023
Ashby, La Fanciulla del West, 2016
Frére Laurent, Roméo et Juliette, 2016
Baron Scarpia, Tosca, 2012 (June 29 – August 8)
Thomas Hampson
Baritone
Baron Scarpia (August 11-24)
Thomas Hampson
Hometown: Spokane, WA
SFO Debut:
Dr. Malatesta, Don Pasquale, 1983 (July 2 – August 2)
Previous Seasons:
Baron Scarpia, Tosca, 2012 (August 11 – 24)
Brian Jagde
Tenor
Mario Cavaradossi
Brian Jagde
Hometown: Plainview, NY
SFO Debut:
Cavaradossi, Tosca, 2012
Past Seasons:
Narraboth, Salome, 2015
Count Elemer, Arabella, 2012
Dale Travis
Bass-baritone
Sacristan
Dale Travis
Hometown: Trenton, NJ
SFO Debut:
A Bailiff/Clerk, The Sorrows of Young Werther, 1992
Past Seasons:
Sacristan, Tosca, 2023
Benoit/Alcindoro, La bohème, 2019
Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte, 2019 (July 17)
Doctor Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 2013
Doctor Grenvil, La traviata, 2013
Sacristan, Tosca, 2012
Count Waldner, Arabella, 2012
Speaker, The Magic Flute, 2010
Superintendent Budd, Albert Herring, 2010
Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte, 2007
Doctor Bartolo, The Barber of Seville, 2005
Doctor Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 2000 (August 7 – 25)
Speaker, The Magic Flute, 1998
Don Pedro, Beatrice and Benedict, 1998
Count Waldner, Arabella. 1997
Trulove, The Rake’s Progress, 1996
Peneios, Daphne, 1996
Antonio, The Marriage of Figaro, 1995
Mr. Ruskin, Modern Painters, 1995
Innkeeper, The Protagonist, 1993
Dennis Petersen
Tenor
Spoletta
Dennis Petersen
Hometown: West Branch, IA
SFO Debut:
Spoletta, Tosca, 2012
Previous Seasons:
Edrisi, King Roger, 2012
Zachary Nelson
Baritone
Cesare Angelotti
Zachary Nelson
Hometown: Annapolis, MD
SFO Debut:
Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro, 2013
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2012
Past Seasons:
Faninal, Der Rosenkavalier, 2024
Golaud, Pelléas et Mélisande, 2023
Marcello, La bohème, 2019
Lord Enrico Ashton, Lucia di Lammermoor, 2017
Dr. Malatesta, Don Pasquale, 2014
Cesare Angelotti, Tosca, 2012
The Pearl Fishers, 2012
Maometto II, 2012
King Roger, 2012
Arabella, 2012
Christian Bowers
Baritone
Sciarrone
Christian Bowers
Hometown: Hankins, NY
Past Seasons:
Sciarrone, Tosca, 2012
Pearl Fishers, 2012
Maometto II, 2012
King Roger, 2012
Arabella, 2012
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2012
Christopher Remmel
Bass-baritone
Jailer
Christopher Remmel
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Past Seasons:
Jailer, Tosca, 2012
Custom House Officer, La bohème, 2011
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2011, 2012
Frédéric Chaslin
Conductor
Frédéric Chaslin
Hometown: Paris, France
SFO Debut:
La traviata, 2009
Past Seasons:
Tosca, 2012
Maometto II, 2012
Susan Graham and Friends Gala Concert, 2012
Faust, 2011
Stephen Barlow
Director
Stephen Barlow
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
SFO Debut:
Tosca, 2012
Past Seasons:
Don Giovanni, 2024
The Barber of Seville, 2022
Yannis Thavoris
Scenic & Costume Designer
Yannis Thavoris
Hometown: Thessaloniki, Greece
SFO Debut:
Tosca, 2012
Past Seasons:
Don Giovanni, 2024
Duane Schuler
Lighting Designer
Duane Schuler
Hometown: Elkhart Lake, WI
2025 Season:
La bohème, The Marriage of Figaro
SFO Debut:
Madame Butterfly, 1996
Past Seasons:
The Flying Dutchman, 2023
Carmen, 2022
The Marriage of Figaro, 2021
Jenůfa, 2019
Candide, 2018
The Italian Girl in Algiers, 2018
Die Fledermaus, 2017
Don Pasquale, 2014
Fidelio, 2014
The Marriage of Figaro, 2013
La donna del Lago, 2013
La traviata, 2013
Tosca, 2012
Maometto II, 2012
King Roger, 2012
La traviata, 2009
The Letter, 2009
Alceste, 2009
Falstaff, 2008
The Marriage of Figaro, 2008
Così fan tutte, 2007
Platée, 2007
Carmen, 2006
Cinderella, 2006
Salome, 2006
The Tempest, 2006
Turandot, 2005
The Barber of Seville, 2005
Lucio Silla, 2005
Don Giovanni, 2004
Simon Boccanegra, 2004
Don Giovanni, 2004
La belle Hélène, 2003
Così fan tutte, 2003
Kátya Kabanová, 2003
Eugene Onegin, 2002
The Italian Girl in Algiers, 2002
Lucia di Lammermoor, 2001
Falstaff, 2001
Rigoletto, 2000
The Marriage of Figaro, 2000
Ermione, 2000
Countess Maritza, 1999
Carmen, 1999
Idomeneo, 1999
Madame Butterfly, 1998
The Magic Flute, 1998
La traviata, 1997
Semele, 1997
Jonathan Rider
Fight Director
Jonathan Rider
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
SFO Debut:
Wozzeck, 2011
Previous Seasons:
Tosca, 2012
Maometto II, 2012
Susanne Sheston
Chorus Master
Susanne Sheston
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
2025 Season
SFO Debut:
2008 Season
Past Seasons:
2024 Season
2023 Season
2022 Season
2021 Season
2019 Season
2018 Season
2017 Season
2016 Season
2015 Season
2014 Season
2013 Season
2012 Season
2011 Season
2010 Season
2009 Season
Tosca 2012
- Tours
- Transportation
- Dining
- Talk