Puccini’s opera Tosca is a melodrama in three acts set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Guiseppe Giacosa and based on Victorien Sardou’s 1887 French-language drama, La Tosca. Set in Rome at the time of Napoleon’s invasion of Italy, Tosca is a story of love, lust, murder, and political intrigue. Passion and jealousy drive this tragic tale which depicts the tempestuous life of opera singer Floria Tosca, her lover Mario Cavaradossi, and the corrupt chief of police, Baron Scarpia. The dramatic force of Tosca’s characters coupled with Puccini’s ri bchly romantic score continues to fascinate both performers and audiences, making it one of the most performed operas of all time!