Tosca

Let's talk opera today. Tosca is one of my favourites, it's full of dark drama and everybody dies in the end, what's not to like:) I found a cartoon on YouTube which sums up the whole story pretty well:



Don't watch it before going to bed as it's kinda scary, though in my opinion, the Angel of Death was rather a nice touch:) As with all operas, there have been numerous productions, I personally like this one with Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorgiu.

What I find interesting about this particular story, is that despite its political angle, the conflict essentially comes down to the old tribal warfare, as in kill the enemy, take his woman sort of thing, except that it doesn't work out so well for Scarpia in the end.

Though both men die, Mario is taken out by a group of men, while Scarpia, just as evil Hagen in The Song Of Nibelungs, dies by the hand of a woman, which is a shameful death for one of the warrior class (and after all, that's what the European aristocracy actually was), so for Scarpia there will be no Valhalla...