On January 16, 2011, the current Tosca production directed by Andreas Kriegenburg was released at the Frankfurt Opera. Afterwards, one could read in the Frankfurter Rundschau about this new production of the masterpiece by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924): "'Opera must not only be the preservation of tradition,' Andreas Kriegenburg once said, because opera is made by today's people. That Kriegenburg nevertheless does not brutally drag Puccini's characters into today, but leaves them in their actually timeless emotional worlds, is his merit - especially since these have an effect into today." A radio review on SWR2 stated: "All around it was brilliant. Great voices, a magnificently disposed orchestra, clear images, a perfect staging."
About the plot of this "opera thriller": In the Rome of 1800, the beautiful singer Floria Tosca tries to rescue her lover, the painter Mario Cavaradossi, from the clutches of the brutal police chief Scarpia. As a price for the painter's release, Scarpia demands that Tosca spend one night with him, after which she and Cavaradossi are to be allowed to leave Rome unmolested, covered up by the mock execution of their lover. Tosca agrees. In the heat of the moment she stabs the surprised Scarpia, but even in death he still holds the reins of events firmly in his hand...
