“Vissi d’arte “from Tosca (1900)

There is nothing happy about the ending of Tosca. Tosca herself, a famous singer, and her lover Cavaradossi, a painter with libertarian ideals, are both destined to die in the last act. Tosca’s most famous aria “Vissi d’arte” comes from the second act just before the point where she agrees to sacrifice her virtue to the corrupt Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia, in return for the release of Cavaradossi. Having failed to respond to one of the most expressive of all Puccini’s arias – Tosca’s lament that she of all people should find herself in this terrible situation – Scarpia clearly deserves the fatal stab wound that she is about to inflict on him.