Type: Opera
Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Title: Tosca
Location: Baden-Baden, Easter Festival
Choir: Vienna Philhamonia Chorus
Orchestra: Berliner Philhamoniker
Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle
Soloist: Kristina Opolais, Jonas Kaufmann
Staging: Philipp Himmelmann
Year: 2017

This impassioned performance is built around an imposing space that suggests constant threat. The staging is deliberate, keeping the environment spare so that attention remains on the singers’ physical presence and the shifting relationships between them. This suits Tosca particularly well: the opera moves quickly, unfolds over a single day, and places its characters in situations where every choice has immediate consequences. Puccini gives the audience a sharp story and an absorbing experience.