Dates & times
All times are local to the venue · America/Detroit
- From 2:30 PM
- From 7:30 PM
- From 7:30 PM
Performances: Nov. 1, 5 and 7, 2026. Talks begin one hour before each performance. Listed running time is 2 hours 22 minutes, including a 25-minute intermission; no scheduled end time is stated.
Tosca at Detroit Opera: Puccini’s opera and three pre-show talks
Cavaradossi’s danger is political before it becomes personal: he is a revolutionary painter pursued by Rome’s chief of police. In Puccini’s Tosca, the singer who loves him must navigate a system where Scarpia uses torture and sexual violence to exert control. Director Louisa Proske’s framing puts that conflict alongside a larger question about artists working under repression.
A rescue story with a political trap
Tosca is determined to save Cavaradossi, her lover, but Scarpia controls the forces that threaten him. The pursuit turns a love story into a struggle with political authority—and Tosca’s choices become more perilous as she understands the danger she is facing.
Giacomo Puccini’s score shifts between tender, intimate passages and more expansive orchestral force. Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa wrote the libretto.
Further reading: Tosca - Detroit Opera ↗ · Tosca | Visit Detroit ↗
The cost of making art under power
Proske’s director’s note treats the opera as a work about artists as well as its central love triangle. It raises questions about making art under repression, whether to leave or remain, and when continuing to work within an authoritarian system amounts to complicity. Proske connects those questions to artists who later faced dictatorships and to the tension between official propaganda and art’s capacity to imagine alternatives.
The opera’s political danger is not immediately clear to Tosca. For part of the story, she believes she is dealing with romantic jealousy rather than a police chief who can torture and kill. Proske’s reading gives particular weight to that delayed recognition. The final act, in her framing, opens into Tosca’s memories and visions, drawing on both her life in the theater and her religious imagination.
Content note: the story includes torture and sexual violence. Scarpia sexually assaults Tosca while using Cavaradossi’s fate to control her. The Detroit Opera listing gives no Tosca-specific age recommendation.
Further reading: Tosca - Detroit Opera ↗
The people at the center of the story
Masabane Rangwanasha sings Tosca, Nathan Granner sings Cavaradossi and Alfred Walker sings Scarpia. The cast also includes Dale Travis as the Sacristan, James Kryshak as Spoletta and Lawson Anderson as Angelotti.
Roberto Kalb conducts the Detroit Opera Orchestra. Proske directs, with Malena Dayen as associate director. The three central roles bring the opera’s conflict into focus: a painter threatened by political power, a singer trying to intervene and a police chief able to impose his will.
Further reading: Tosca - Detroit Opera ↗
Three pre-performance talks, three perspectives
The Nov. 1 talk pairs director Louisa Proske with conductor Roberto Kalb. On Nov. 5, Detroit Opera Resident Artist Travis Leon Williams, a Cavaradossi Cover, speaks; on Nov. 7, Resident Artist Madison Montambault, a Tosca Cover, takes part. The role-covering artists offer a different perspective from the production’s director and conductor. Each talk begins one hour before its performance; the schedule lists the exact start times.
Sunday, November 1, 2026 · Detroit Opera House
- Tosca. Talk with director Louisa Proske and conductor Roberto Kalb.
Thursday, November 5, 2026 · Detroit Opera House
- Tosca. Talk with Travis Leon Williams, Cavaradossi Cover and Detroit Opera Resident Artist.
Saturday, November 7, 2026 · Detroit Opera House
- Tosca. Talk with Madison Montambault, Tosca Cover and Detroit Opera Resident Artist.
Before you book
Tickets start at $30
Visit Detroit lists admission starting at $30; that is not a price for every seat. Check Detroit Opera’s ticketing page for current prices and availability.
Allow 2 hours and 22 minutes
The listed total includes a 25-minute intermission. No scheduled end time is stated.
Getting to and through the Detroit Opera House
Transit and entrances
The Detroit Opera House is at 1526 Broadway Street, Detroit, MI 48226. Its entry doors are on Broadway Street and Madison Avenue. The venue is one block from the People Mover and two blocks from the Q Line. Use the linked map to plan directions from your starting point.
Detroit Opera House Parking and Directions - Detroit Opera ↗ · Tosca | Visit Detroit ↗
Parking
The Detroit Opera House Parking Center is at 1426 Broadway Street, with entrances on John R. Street and East Grand River Avenue. Parking for non-subscribers is first-come, first-served; rates vary with demand and other events nearby, and the center accepts credit cards only. Prepaid parking there is available only to Detroit Opera subscribers.
Detroit Opera House Parking and Directions - Detroit Opera ↗
Accessible seating and arrival
Accessible seating, including wheelchair seating, is available in all price ranges on the orchestra level and must be arranged through the box office at 313-237-7464. Accessible parking is available in the Opera House Parking Center.
The Madison Street entrance is accessible and closest to the elevators; guests can also be dropped off or picked up there. Elevators are in the Smith Lobby on the Madison Street side.
Listening, sensory and mobility support
Detroit Opera is KultureCity Certified. Free assisted-listening devices are available first-come, first-served; staff hold a piece of personal identification while a device is in use. Free sensory bags are available at guest services in the Vincent Lobby and Broadway Lounge, adjacent to the Ford Lobby. They contain noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools, tactile objects and mood cards; staff hold a driver’s license or state ID until the bag is returned.
During performances, the Broadway Lounge serves as a quiet room. Before or after a show, ask staff for help finding a quiet space. A limited number of wheelchairs are available at each entrance for moving between the entrance and a seat, elevator or restroom; a companion or usher must return each chair to its original location.
Before you make a plan
Are English translations provided during the opera?
Yes. Every performance has English supertitles projected on screens throughout the theater.
How do I arrange accessible seating?
Call the box office at 313-237-7464. Accessible seating, including wheelchair seating, is available in all price ranges on the orchestra level.
Does the listing give an age recommendation for Tosca?
No Tosca-specific age recommendation is listed. The story includes torture and sexual violence.
Location & Google Maps
Detroit Opera House
1526 Broadway St, Detroit, MI 48226
Map search by venue and address. Check the organiser’s entrance details before travelling.