Tosca: English National Opera Guide 16 (English National Opera Guides)

Here is one of Puccini's greatest hits, in an affordable version for complete orchestra. This story of love, art and death in Rome during the Napoleonic wars is today considered a classic for such arias as "Vissi d'arte" (I lived for art; I lived for love), but at its premiere in 1900 it was denounced as "a shabby little shocker," for things like Baron Scarpia's lechery and Tosca's termination of him with extreme prejudice. Be aware that Dover's scores are reprints from other companies that are now out of copyright; that means that they're older versions, and lack such amenities as English translations.