Puccini’s Tosca, first as a famous-but-now-forgotten play, is one of the few indestructibly enduring operas, and the title role remains a destination achievement for great sopranos. The play was written in 1887 by the once-famous Victorien Sardou for his era’s most compelling actress, the French Sarah Bernhardt, who performed it all over the world, including many U.S. cities, where she packed houses playing the role in French with an English-speaking supporting cast.
