The première of the show Tosca by Giacomo Puccini took place on March 13^th, ⁱⁿ Tokyo, and it was presented as a part of the tour taken by the artists from the Maggio Musicale Florentino Theatre, celebrating 150 years since the Italian Republic was founded. At the conductor's music rack there was Zubin Mehta, and the title role was interpreted by the soprano Adina Nitescu, who talked to us about the landmarks of the show and also about the manner in which the earthquake in Japan affected these performances:

"Here, in Japan we are confronted with a critical situation as people tend to panic. Many of my colleagues leave the country and, of course, the soloists are replaced with great difficulty in Japan. But fortunately, the première took place on March 13^th and it was a very touching event, as the performance hall was full. We thought that maybe, after these terrible events taking place in the North of Japan, people would not come to see the performance. We had not expected them to behave in such a way, and it was extremely beautiful. The atmosphere was tremendous. We were impressed by the Japanese. "Maggio Musicale's" tour will continue in China, Hungary, and Tosca is scheduled until March 20^th. The cast also includes the tenor Marco Berti (Mario Cavaradossi), the baritone Roberto Candia and the bass Ruggero Raimondi. Collaborating with conductor Zubin Mehta was an extraordinary experience. The music is at a very high level. The conductor works very carefully with the artists, the choir, the orchestra and he truly helps the singers. The show is directed by Mario Pontiggia who, unfortunately, cannot be with us because he had the première of Norma in Europe. The direction is very beautiful, conservative, and the scenography is imposing. "