ROME (AP) — A faded, four-story building that was once a pasta factory now houses the warehouse and bustling workshop of the Rome Opera House. The building is home to a trove of scenic backdrops and 70,000 costumes from over a century of performances.
This year, the opera house’s costume designers, tailors and seamstresses have working to reconstruct the original outfits of Giacomo Puccini’s Opera “Tosca.” It is a tale of passion and deception set in Rome in the 1800s, featuring a dark-haired beauty forced to commit murder to protect her dignity and the man she loves. This year marks the 125th anniversary of its first-ever performance.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Musicians of the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house orchestra practice in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Set designers work on a stage canvas in the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house warehouse, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A tailor works on a stage costume for Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” opera in the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house costumes warehouse, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Anna Biagiotti, head of tailoring at the Rome’s Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house, walks in the house’s costumes warehouse, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A tailor works on a stage costume for Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” opera in the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house costumes warehouse, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A set designer works on a stage canvas in the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house warehouse, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A tailor works on stage costumes in the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house costumes laboratory, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Set designers work on a stage canvas in the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house warehouse, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Michele Mariotti, right, director of the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house orchestra, practices in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Michele Mariotti, right, director of the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house orchestra, practices in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A set designer prepares paint for a stage canvas in the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house warehouse, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Photos of projects and stage canvases used for previous performances of Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” opera are hang on a wall of the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house warehouse, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Set designers work on a stage canvas in the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house warehouse, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Buckets of paint used for stage canvases are seen in a laboratory of the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house warehouse, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Danilo Mancini, director of set production, left, oversees designers as they work on the project of stage canvases in the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house warehouse, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Tailors work on stage costumes in the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house costumes laboratory, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Historical costumes from Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” opera are on display inside the foyer of the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Anna Biagiotti, the costume director for the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house shows drawings, sketches and notes for the costumes made 125 years ago for the first ever performance of Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Tosca”, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Historical costumes from Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” opera are on display inside the foyer of the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A tailor works on stage costumes in the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house costumes laboratory, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A view of the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A plate celebrates the 125th anniversary of the first ever performance of Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” opera in the foyer of the “Teatro dell’ Opera” opera house, in Rome, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)