Original subtitles

Welcome to the Royal Opera House,

where the stage is almost set

for one of opera's most popular

and certainly most chilling masterpieces,

Tosca by Giacomo Puccini.

Tosca is pure melodrama, a thriller.

It has it all, religion,

politics, betrayal,

murder, execution, suicide.

For this performance,

we've assembled a dream cast.

The rehearsals have been very intense, but also a lot of fun,

and we're so much looking forward to this.

The opera is named after the diva Floria Tosca,

in our production performed by the Romanian soprano

Angela Gheorghiu.

Tosca is one of my favourite roles,

because I am playing myself.

Even if you only hear the music, it's like a soundtrack of a movie.

Puccini, with Tosca,

he did a masterpiece.

Tosca is in love with the painter

Mario Cavaradossi,

one of Puccini's great tenor roles,

sung by Jonas Kaufmann.

Even though the opera is called Tosca,

the things I have to sing there,

the two arias, the two duets,

are just so beautifully written,

you just don't fake the emotions, but you really feel it.

The third side of the triangle

is one of opera's genuinely evil characters,

the Chief of Police Baron Scarpia,

played by the Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel.

The role of Scarpia for me has that twinge of danger.

What do I do?

Do I stride in purposefully?

Do I have a mean, horrible face?

No, it's all in the music.

The other star of the opera is Rome,

the Eternal City.

Each of Tosca's three Acts

is set in an iconic Roman landmark.

The action takes place in less than 24 hours,

mid morning to dawn on a real day in history,

the 17th of June, 1800,

when news reached Rome

of the defeat of Napoleon's forces

at the battle of Marengo.

The opera opens in the magnificent

16th century church of Sant'Andrea della Valle,

where Tosca and Cavaradossi meet

and a chain of events unfolds

which ultimately leads to tragedy.

So this is it,

the beginning of Tosca.

One of the great openings

in all music, actually.

Three very, very simple

but iconic chords

that speak of Rome,

speak of oppression,

power, lust, everything.

APPLAUSE

DISTANT BELL TOLLS

APPLAUSE

TOSCA FROM OFFSTAGE

DISTANT BLAST

APPLAUSE

HE RINGS BELL

TOSCA SINGS CANTATA OFFSTAGE

DISTANT GROAN

MAN WAILS

APPLAUSE

KNOCKING

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

This is exciting stuff.

Really...intense show.

An amazing, amazing intensity

from everyone, actually. To the very, very end.

And they all died.

Successfully.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk