Puccini's opera Tosca (1900) was the first opera I really got to know. The first opera that I saw in the theatre was Mozart's The Magic Flute, sung in English, but it was Tosca that I watched on video and listened to on LP. And it was Tosca that really got me hooked.
I remember sitting in the circle of the Liverpool Empire Theatre to watch the production by Welsh National Opera. It was the first time I had ever experienced a live orchestra and I can still recall the shivers down the back of my neck when I first heard those opening chords. I still have the programme: 24th November, 1992. I remember that Cavaradossi's painting rolled down from the flies rather than being on an easel; I remember a bunch of plastic candles and the train of Tosca's dress getting caught on them and having to be yanked off; I remember Scarpia carrying a whip; I remember Scarpia laying cushions on the floor before he seduced Tosca. And I remember the thrill, the elation of it all, the genuine excitement of that sound of singers and an orchestra coming together to tell a dramatic story.
