24 November 1887, Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin, Paris
Première of Sardou’s La Tosca, with the celebrated actress Sarah Bernhardt in the title role.
Spring 1889
Puccini and his librettist Ferdinando Fontana (Le Villi, 1884, and Edgar, 1889) attend performances of Sardou’s La Tosca, starring Sarah Bernhardt, in Milan and Turin. Puccini is reportedly captivated by the play, although he understood little of the performances, given in French.
Autumn 1894
Puccini’s interest in Tosca had waned and a rival composer, Alberto Franchetti, had signed a contract with Ricordi for an opera based on Sardou’s play, with a libretto by Luigi Illica. Illica reads aloud the libretto to a small gathering, among which is Verdi.
Verdi’s reaction is reported to Puccini. This information and Franchetti’s proposed adaptation make Puccini want to write Tosca, and Ricordi and Illica dissuade Franchetti from going ahead with his version. Franchetti abandoned the project in May 1895, and the opera was subsequently placed with Puccini, who declared his intention to compose it in August 1895.
Summer-Autumn 1898
According to the autograph score, work on Tosca makes serious progress, with Puccini completing the finale of Act I, Scarpia’s monologue and the Te Deum.
July 1899
Orchestration of Act II completed.
Autumn 1899
Orchestration of Act III completed.
14 January 1900, Teatro Costanzi, Rome
Première of Tosca. Present are Queen Margherita, Prime Minister Pelloux, Minister of Education Baccelli, and other Italian political and cultural figures, including Mascagni, Cilea, Franchetti, Sgambati, Marchetti, Costa.
An enormous crowd forms at the theatre doors. The orchestra hardly begun when they were stopped by shouting and the stampeding of people unable to enter. They were forced to drop the curtain and begin again when silence was restored.
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