British set and costume designer, Kevin Knight, who is already known to COC audiences for his design of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, created a time-appropriate, yet beautifully understated set, and fitting costumes. These anchored the production well into the Napoleonic period, which caused much upheaval in Italy. Republican and monarchic elements are at odds, and the opera takes place just days after Napoleon's win at Marengo.

Most Tosca productions have a bit of a problem with how to present the portrait of Mary Magdalene being painted by the artist-cum-tragic hero, Cavaradossi, in the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle. Knight almost solved it, but the somewhat cheesy rendition of the huge painting with its gleaming blue eyes might have been better left more hidden to the audience. Perhaps, this may seem a petty comment, but since the set in general created such a wonderful effect, one cannot help but wish for perfection the next time this set is used for a restaging of Tosca in the future. One likes, however, the way Knight incorporated the torture chamber into Scarpia's apartment at the Parlazzo Farnese. It evokes the right kind of horror as the secret entrance reveals the padded walls to muffle the cries of those being tortured.

Like Knight, British stage director, Paul Curran, made his debut with the COC in Lady Macbeth. His direction of the current production of Tosca cannot be faulted, and in many places is magnificent, particularly his staging of the Te Deum Mass scene in Act I.

One can only state that in this new COC Tosca production, the designer and stage director obviously know exactly what they each have in mind, and are entirely compatible.

Conductor Richard Buckley, artistic director for the Austin Lyric Opera, is no newcomer to the COC, having conducted numerous operas here over the years. He and the COC Orchestra gave an outstanding performance in Tosca, and worked harmoniously together with the singers. As a consequence, this production offered musical and visual satisfaction.

The title role of the singer, Floria Tosca, is sung by Eszter Sümegi, a role she also sang in the COC's last production of Tosca in 2003. This soprano definitely has paprika in her veins, which gives a special fire to her acting. As such she is well suited to the role of the vain singer, easily aroused to jealousy, but also to determination to save the man she loves. Sümegi's voice, however, is more effective in the lower registers, while in the higher ones she tends toward too much vibrato. Still, overall, her performance meets one's expectations of the role, including her rendition of the famous aria, Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore (I lived for art, I lived for love).

Tenor Mikhail Agafonov once again gave an excellent vocal performance as Tosca's lover, Cavaradossi, as he has done in many other COC productions. One just wishes he had greater acting ability, although he certainly seemed less wooden in this Tosca than he did in his performance of Don Carlos earlier in the season.

British baritone Alan Opie's voice and performance combined to produce a gripping villain, the Baron Scarpia, who is determined to possess Tosca, while also ridding himself of his political enemies. Bass Robert Pomakov, always a powerful singer, captured the essence of the sniveling Sacristan, who obviously dislikes the artist, and has no qualms denouncing him to Scarpia. Bass Andrew Stewart, a member of the COC Ensemble Studio, proved effective in the double role of the escaped nobleman and sworn enemy of Scarpia, Cesare Angelotti, and in Act III, the Jailer. And, finally, it must be mentioned that the COC chorus performed well under the direction of chorus master Sandra Horst.

Tosca, one of the most popular opera's any company can produce, was Puccini's fifth opera and opened in Rome on January 14, 1900. While some critics have called Tosca a soap opera—it does, after all contain torture, murder, suicide and attempted rape—it reflected its historic time in a condensed moment, making it valid musical drama.