One of the things that interested me the most about seeing the Opera was how elaborate the set designs were. When I saw the first set upon entering the theater I was blown away. Even so, I was unprepared for the set changes. To hear the hammering after the curtain went down confused me. I did not understand how they could be dismantling and rebuilding new sets entirely. When I saw the second set after intermission I was amazed to see a new room entirely, complete with working windows and doors. Seeing the sets was arguably my favorite part of the opera.

What really interested me, however, was the character development. In reading the play I was unimpressed with the characters and found them to be extremely two-dimensional. Perhaps this is only because it was a play and meant to be seen on stage. However, I feel that the characters in Puccini’s opera were more developed then in Sardou’s play. As Lisa mentioned in class, I believe this to be because Sardou focused on the politics while Puccini focused on the relationships between the characters.

This was especially true for the character of Tosca. On paper I felt that her character was flat and lacked depth. However, on stage she took on a new form. I was especially impressed with the scene after Tosca killed Scarpia. The emotion she showed after killing him showed her as a real person. The song she sings about loosing faith helped me to understand her better. She felt that she was a good person, but abandoned by God she was helpless and desperate.  As such it made sense when she killed Scarpia and i understood her decision to take her own life far better.