Cavaradossis

Cavaradossi is an Italian surname best known for the fictional character Mario Cavaradossi, a painter and the romantic lead in Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca. In common usage, "Cavaradossis" would be the plural form referring to multiple people bearing the surname, but it is not a recognized title or separate subject; most references use the singular Cavaradossi, with the plural appearing only in lists or scholarly discussions of individuals named.

The character Mario Cavaradossi is depicted as a principled and compassionate painter living in Rome around 1800. He is Floria Tosca's lover and a supporter of the Italian republican movement; his idealism and disdain for tyranny contrast with Scarpia's cruelty. He helps Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner, and becomes entangled in Scarpia's plot to manipulate Tosca. He is captured, tortured, and executed by a firing squad on the orders of Scarpia.

In performance, Cavaradossi is a tenor role that requires lyric-dramatic vocal qualities. He sings major arias such as Recondita armonia, in which he muses on the hidden harmony between his painting and Tosca, and E lucevan le stelle, a concluding aria of love and longing in the third act. The character's fate and arias have made him a central figure in the standard Puccini repertoire, with numerous notable interpreters in opera houses worldwide.

The name Cavaradossi has thus become associated primarily with Puccini's Tosca, and references to "Cavaradossis" generally relate to the character or to people bearing the surname in scholarly or performative contexts.