Tosca

Franco Zeffirelli both stage-directed and designed the sets for this 1985 Metropolitan Opera production of Puccini's romantic opera Tosca. The story revolves around the singer Floria Tosca (Hildegard Behrens), who is jealous of her lover, painter Mario Cavaradossi (Placido Domingo). The corrupt police chief Scarpia (Cornell MacNeil) is after the escaped political prisoner Cesare Angelotti (James Courtney), who is friends with Mario. The treacherous Scarpia arrests Mario, Angelotti kills himself, and Tosca gets homicidal. Several murders and betrayals later, the conclusion involves Mario and Tosca before a firing squad in the dramatic final act. Conducted by Guiseppe Sinopoli.