Editing Tosca (section)

=== Premiere ===
[[File:Caruso as Cavaradossi Kobbe.jpg|thumb|upright|alt= Man, with dark hair and a curling moustache, standing in a posed position. He is wearing a long coat, with lace at the throat and cuffs.|[[Enrico Caruso]] as Cavaradossi. Passed over for the role at the premiere, he sang it many times subsequently.]]
By December 1899, ''Tosca'' was in rehearsal at the [[Teatro Costanzi]].<ref name="arturo">Budden, p. 197</ref> Because of the Roman setting, Ricordi arranged a Roman premiere for the opera,<ref name="Fisher-23" /> even though this meant that [[Arturo Toscanini]] could not conduct it as Puccini had planned—Toscanini was fully engaged at [[La Scala]] in Milan. [[Leopoldo Mugnone]] was appointed to conduct. The accomplished (but temperamental) soprano [[Hariclea Darclée]] was selected for the title role; [[Eugenio Giraldoni]], [[Leone Giraldoni|whose father]] had originated many [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]] roles, became the first Scarpia. The young [[Enrico Caruso]] had hoped to create the role of Cavaradossi, but was passed over in favour of the more experienced [[Emilio De Marchi (tenor)|Emilio De Marchi]].<ref name="arturo" /> The performance was to be directed by Nino Vignuzzi, with stage designs by [[Adolfo Hohenstein]].<ref>{{Almanacco|dmy=14-01-1900|match=Tosca}}</ref>

At the time of the premiere, Italy had experienced political and social unrest for several years. The start of the [[Holy Year]] in December 1899 attracted the religious to the city, but also brought threats from anarchists and other anticlericals. Police received warnings of an anarchist bombing of the theatre, and instructed Mugnone (who had survived a theatre bombing in Barcelona),<ref name="staging" /> that in an emergency he was to strike up the [[Marcia Reale|royal march]].<ref name="reale">Budden, p. 198</ref> The unrest caused the premiere to be postponed by one day, to 14&nbsp;January.<ref name="opening">Ashbrook, p. 77</ref>

By 1900, the premiere of a Puccini opera was a national event.<ref name="reale" /> Many Roman dignitaries attended, as did [[Margherita of Savoy|Queen Margherita]], though she arrived late, after the first act.<ref name="staging">Phillips-Matz, p. 118</ref> The [[Prime Minister of Italy]], [[Luigi Pelloux]] was present, with several members of his cabinet.<ref name="opening" /> A number of Puccini's operatic rivals were there, including Franchetti, [[Pietro Mascagni]], [[Francesco Cilea]] and [[Ildebrando Pizzetti]]. Shortly after the curtain was raised there was a disturbance in the back of the theatre, caused by latecomers attempting to enter the auditorium, and a shout of "Bring down the curtain!", at which Mugnone stopped the orchestra.<ref name="staging" /> A few moments later the opera began again, and proceeded without further disruption.<ref name="staging" />

The performance, while not quite the triumph that Puccini had hoped for, was generally successful, with numerous encores.<ref name="staging" /> Much of the critical and press reaction was lukewarm, often blaming Illica's libretto. In response, Illica condemned Puccini for treating his librettists "like stagehands" and reducing the text to a shadow of its original form.<ref>Greenfeld, pp. 122–123</ref> Nevertheless, any public doubts about ''Tosca'' soon vanished; the premiere was followed by twenty performances, all given to packed houses.<ref name="packed">Budden, p. 199</ref>