One of opera’s most beloved stories and scores, Tosca is the tale of a tumultuous love triangle between Rome’s finest artist, fieriest diva, and fiercest tyrant. Opera star Floria Tosca’s lover, the artist and rebel Mario Cavaradossi, runs afoul of the powerful and unscrupulous Baron Scarpia. Tosca must strike a devil’s bargain with the lustful Scarpia in order to save the day. The score is lush with some of Puccini’s most famous and wrenching melodies, such as Cavaradossi’s “Eleventh-Hour Lament”; “E Lucevan Le Stelle”; Tosca’s powerful prayer, “Vissi d’Arte” (“I lived for art, I lived for love …”); and Scarpia’s sneering “Te Deum.” Fresh from her Metropolitan Opera debut as the Voice of Heaven in Verdi’s Don Carlo, soprano Toni Marie Palmertree makes her Florida Grand Opera debut in the title role. She is joined by Mexican star tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz, who returns to FGO as the heroic Cavaradossi. He last appeared on the stage in 2012’s La Bohème. Rounding out the principal cast is veteran Scarpia and FGO favorite, baritone Todd Thomas, who returns after last season’s triumphant Rigoletto; Mar. 18-Apr. 15. FGO.org.
