Rehearsals for Tosca at Austria's St Margarethen Quarry are underway, opening an evocative journey into Puccini's Rome, where light and shadow meet faith and revolution.
Tosca, the legendary opera, whose story is steeped in love, jealousy, lust for power and intrigue and ends in tragedy, will be brought to life on one of Europe’s most impressive open-air stages by Thaddeus Strassberger, director and set designer.
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The costumes are once again created by Giuseppe Palella, who together with Strassberger has already enchanted the St Margarethen quarry audience with Turandot in 2021 and Aida in 2024.
The resident orchestra of Austria's Opera in the Quarry is the Piedra Festival Orchestra, made up of Hungarian musicians, and this year’s production will also feature two Hungarian artists, Zoltán Nagyand Adorján Pataki.
In 2021 Strassberger and Palella conjured up the magical world of Asia on stage, followed in 2024 by Egypt; in 2026, with their production of Tosca, they will evoke Rome at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Strassberger explains his directorial concept and the challenges of working in the quarry in a video:
Visually, the production follows the aesthetics of Baroque Rome. The tension between light and darkness, between light and shadow, is mirrored in Palella’s costume designs as well. He talks about the design process in this video.
Baroque masterpieces in the stage design
The monumental stage picture includes the basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle, the Palazzo Farnese and Castel Sant’Angelo. Its central elements – the altar, the sanctuary, and an impressive candle – together symbolise opulent splendour, decay and spirituality.
Musical direction will again be assumed by Italian conductor Valerio Galli, whom audiences already know from the 2023 production of Carmen.
Known as a specialist in Puccini’s operas, he will bring out the dramatic tension and musical depths of the Italian master’s masterpiece in the quarry’s unique acoustics, conducting the resident orchestra of Opera in the Quarry, the Hungarian musicians of the Piedra Festival Orchestra and the Philharmonia Chor Wien (choirmaster Walter Zeh).
A special highlight of the performance will be the children’s choir Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen, who will be singing the Te Deum on the quarry stage for the first time.
Once again, the stage will be graced by outstanding performers with international experience. For the quarry audience, the passionate, impulsive, courageous yet vulnerable character of Floria Tosca will be interpreted by three sopranos they already know: the Lebanese-Canadian singer Joyce El-Khoury, the Irish-born Celine Byrne and Canadian soprano Melissa Purnell.
The role of Cavaradossi – a passionate, idealistic character who fights for freedom and justice – will likewise be shared by three powerful tenors: Norwegian Bror Magnus Tødenes, Chinese tenor Yongzhao Yu, and Hungarian tenor Adorján Pataki.
In the role of Police Chief Scarpia, Armenian baritone Gevorg Hakobyan, Korean-born baritone Hansung Yoo and Sicilian baritoneMarco Cariawill take to the stage.
The supporting roles are also entrusted to a dazzling line-up of singers: Ukrainian-born Volodymyr Morozov and Hungarian bass Zoltán Nagy, bass will share two roles, those of Angelotti and the Jailer. Zoltán Nagy returns to the quarry stage after the 2024 production of Aida. Ivan Zinoviev and Ilia Kazakov, both basses who have already appeared in previous quarry productions, will likewise take on two parts, the Sacristan and Sciarrone, the police chief. The role of police agent Spoletta will be shared by two tenors, Polish singer Michał Prószyńskiand British tenor Peter Kirk.
Puccini's Tosca will run from 15 July to 22 August 2026, with a total of 24 performances.
