Venice, eighteenth century. The young Rosanna, widowed on her wedding day, discovers that she is the sole heir to an enormous patrimony, becoming in this way the most coveted party of the Serenissima.

The Siege of Venice

The classic tale of lust, jealousy and vengeance takes on a lighter, mischievously comic tone, as two subsidiary female characters (the moralistic house concierge and a worldly-wise "actress") candidly discuss the melodramatic goings-on around them. The story - in which Tosca must save her unfaithful lover from execution by giving herself to the brutal chief of police - is told through an actual performance of Puccini's grand opera, and takes on a contemporary, ironically comic tone in the earthy, gossiping conversations between the two eavesdropping women.