Cover of original edition Photo: Public Domain
Musical thriller or grand opera? Melodramatic masterpiece or shabby little shocker? Elric Hooper and Des Wilson look at Puccini's 1900 setting of the story of the singer, the painter and the chief of police. After its Paris premiere Tosca went around the world very quickly and was first performed in New Zealand in 1917. It became a mainstay of the international operatic repertoire despite consistent misgivings from academics and critics (RNZ)
