The heart-pounding production is staged by the legendary director John Caird and led by the fast-rising young conductor Louis Lohraseb in his mainstage company debut. Bass-baritone Ryan McKinny is the evil Scarpia, who likes nothing more than seeing his victims suffer. Soprano Angel Blue takes on the iconic role of Puccini’s glamorous but tough-as-nails heroine, with tenors Michael Fabiano and Gregory Kunde sharing the role of Mario Cavaradossi, the rebel who becomes the target of the most dangerous man in Rome.

The cast is led by four of the greatest artists of their generations. But this prima donna isn’t going down without a fight. Torn between devotion to her lover and the machinations of a treacherous sociopath who will do anything in his power to break her down, she’s trapped in an utterly impossible predicament, with fatal consequences for them all. But as storms of repression and rebellion rage throughout Italy, the diva is forced to play a real-life role she never imagined.

Audiences cherish her artistry-and adore hearing about her tempestuous offstage romances. Floria Tosca, the famous opera singer, seems to have it all.

Metropolitan opera 2015 16 season