Tosca had all the elements of a Shakespearean play – drama, a dark seriousness diffused by brief periods of humor, and, most importantly, a tragic ending that no one could have foreseen.  The drama and the seriousness of the play stems from the fact that the play takes place in a post-Napoleonic France deeply wounded by the tyranny of Napoleon and threatened by the fear of the dangerous populace.  On top of that, Cavaradossi attempts to escape from the secret police while maintaining a relationship with Tosca.  Although the humor was mostly found in the fact that Tosca got incredibly envious after thinking that Cavaradossi loved another woman, the play featured little comedy.

My favorite part was the unforeseen plot twist that characterized the last act of the play.  Tosca, after proclaiming that both lovers will live happily ever after, is driven to suicide after the death of Cavaradossi.  As Tosca jumped to her death, she proclaimed that she will meet her love again in heaven, thus ending the show with a bang.  The lights turned off just as she was about to make contact with the ground, making the audience believe that she died.  Tosca’s acting was phenomenal in these scenes in that she was not only the main character in the play but also invested all her emotions into her character.

All in all, the play was not what I expected.  For one thing, I initially believed that the opera would be in Shakespearean English, making comprehension very difficult.  However, I was able to understand every line of the play because of the subtitles in the screens.  I also learned that opera is watched mostly by “high class” people, seeing as how everyone came in fancy dresses and drank champagne (I think it was champagne).  I am hoping to go to the opera during either my winter break or summer because I enjoyed this play.