One moment the singer Floria Tosca is standing on the stage, next moment she is the key figure in a deadly political intrigue sparked by jealousy and the craving for power.

Giacomo Puccini’s thriller continues to captivate audiences to this day. The Finnish National Opera in Helsinki presents an audacious new production of this classic directed by Christof Loy.

“Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore” – “I have lived for art, I have lived for love,” sings the despairing opera star Floria Tosca.

Just minutes later, the celebrated singer becomes a murderess as she tries to free herself and her lover, the artist Mario Cavaradossi, from the clutches of Rome’s tyrannical police chief Scarpia. Will the lovers be able to flee this corrupt system? The dramatic denouement is set on the ramparts of the Castel d’Angelo.

“What Tosca had imagined could happen only on stage suddenly becomes a reality,” says Loy, director of this Finnish National Opera in Helsinki production. “Tosca loses control, and she must face a reality that she could never have envisioned. Everything around her turns into a nightmare.”

The cast includes Ausrinė Stundytė (Floria Tosca), Andrea Carè (Mario Cavaradossi) and Tuomas Pursio (Scarpia).