Tosca (2 CD)    
Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Release Date: 1992
Conductor: Giuseppe Sinopoli
Artists:

Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra
Ensemble: Chorus of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden
Label: Deutsche Grammophon

Tosca
Puccini’s melodrama about a volatile diva, a sadistic police chief, and an idealistic artist has offended and thrilled audiences for more than a century. Critics, for their part, have often had problems with Tosca’s rather grungy subject matter, the directness and intensity of its score, and the crowd-pleasing dramatic opportunities it provides for its lead roles. But these same aspects have made Tosca one of a handful of iconic works that seem to represent opera in the public imagination.
Premiere: Teatro Costanzi, Rome, 1900.

Composer
Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)

Setting
No opera is more tied to its setting than Tosca, which takes place in Rome on the morning of June 17, 1800, through dawn the following day. The specified settings for each of the three acts—the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle, Palazzo Farnese, and Castel Sant’Angelo—are familiar monuments in the city and can still be visited today.