– The hugely impressive ‘ Te deum’ which closes Act I contrasts the sacred and the profane – the full chorus sing the ‘Te deum’ hymn while Scarpia gloatingly anticipates his conquest of Tosca, accompanied by vast orchestral forces, organ, church bells, and cannon fire every four bars (which signals that the prisoner Angelotti has escaped). – The heart-wrenching ‘ E lucevan le stelle’ (‘The stars were shining brightly’), is Cavaradossi’s farewell to life, sung as he awaits execution, and is one of the most popular arias in the Italian tenor repertoire. Amazingly, this spellbinding moment of reverence and intense emotion was almost cut by Puccini, who believed the aria ‘held up the action’! Finding both herself and her lover at the mercy of Scarpia, she prays, musing over her darkened fate and asking why God has seemingly abandoned her. – The famous soprano aria ‘ Vissi d’arte’ (‘I lived for art’), which is sung by Tosca during Act II of the opera.
Tosca contains some of opera’s most iconic music:
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