Tosca

Composed by Giacomo Puccini Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa Premiered 1900 in Rome Sung in Italian with English Projected Titles DATES October 24 – November 1, 2026 VENUE Queen Elizabeth Theatre Vancouver, BC RUNNING TIME Approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes, including one 25-minute intermission. Passion, politics, and betrayal collide in Tosca—a breathtaking opera where love burns bright against the dark tides of tyranny. Set amidst upheaval and war in 1800s Rome, the fiery singer Floria Tosca is caught in a deadly triangle between her beloved, the revolutionary artist Mario Cavaradossi, and Baron Scarpia, the corrupt, sadistic chief of police. Puccini’s masterful score will crackle with emotion under the baton of VO Music Director Jacques Lacombe, as Floria navigates a brutal game of power and sacrifice where even her voice—the thing she holds most sacred—becomes a weapon. This new co-production with Pacific Opera Victoria is directed by their celebrated Artistic Director, Brenna Corner, with a cast that includes baritone Gregory Dahl, who has recently stunned VO audiences as both Marcello in La Bohème and Don Pasquale, David Pomeroy, who The New York Times called “a powerful, agile tenor,” and the captivating Lebanese-Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury in the title role. More than a tale of doomed love, Tosca is a searing portrait of resistance in the face of oppression, where art and faith are tested against cruelty and injustice. It’s opera at its most visceral—intimate yet grand, deeply human and tragically heroic. In Tosca, the personal becomes political, and every choice cuts deep.