Tosca by Puccini, Sun 23 Mar 2014, From (2014/2014), Directed by Paco Azorín, Conductor Paolo Carignani, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, Spain

Three is a number of special relevance to Tosca: three settings in Rome in the year 1800, three main characters (Tosca, Cavaradossi and Scarpia), and the three rules of classical drama – action, place and time – which, surprisingly, still underlie this work from the dawn of the 20th century. Paco Azorín chooses to apply the number three to yet another dimension and his production – dominated by a huge, strikingly realistic altarpiece – spans three centuries: the period of the action, that of the premiere, and that of the present audience. Thus there are three levels of interpretation, one for each act, and his Tosca starts off as a work of realism, evolves into the sphere of symbolism, and concludes with a metaphorical vision of this tale of passions. For every passion that is part of contradictory human nature – from love to power lust – finds its place in the three settings and each is expressed with forcefulness and violence.