"E lucevan le stelle" ("And the stars were shining") is aromanticaria from the third act ofGiacomo Puccini's operaTosca from 1900, composed to an Italianlibretto byLuigi Illica andGiuseppe Giacosa. It is sung in act 3 by Mario Cavaradossi (tenor), a painter in love with the singer Tosca, while he waits for his execution on the roof ofCastel Sant'Angelo.

Written inB minor, it is one of the most famous opera arias. Thevocal range extends fromF♯₃ toA₄. The aria is considered part of thespinto tenor repertoire.^[1]

The aria is introduced by a somberclarinet solo. Theincipit of the melody (heard in outline earlier in the act, as the sky lightens and the gaoler prepares for the execution) is repeated on the lines "O dolci baci, o languide carezze" ("Oh, sweet kisses and languorous caresses"), and also restated inforte in the closing bars of the opera, as Tosca jumps from theramparts.

"E lucevan le stelle"

Sung byLeo Slezak, 1913, recorded onEdisoncylinder

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In 1920, the stage performerAl Jolson, together withBuddy DeSylva andVincent Rose, wrote a popular song, "Avalon", about thetown of the same name onSanta Catalina island. The following year,G. Ricordi, the publisher of Puccini's operas, sued all parties associated with the song, arguing that the melody was lifted from "E lucevan le stelle". Puccini and his publisher prevailed in the case and were awarded $25,000 in damages and all future royalties for the song.^[3]

• Detailed musical analysis of the aria can be found inMosco Carner,Giacomo Puccini, Tosca, Cambridge University Press, 1985, pp. 101–104 (ISBN 0-521-29661-7) and inJulian BuddenPuccini: His Life and Works, Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. 218–219 (ISBN 0-19-517974-9).
• The text for the original version of the aria which Puccini later shortened for subsequent editions of the libretto can be found in Susan VanDiver Nicassio,Tosca's Rome: The Play and the Opera in Historical Perspective, University of Chicago Press, 2002, p. 307. (ISBN 0-226-57971-9)
• An analysis of the theme of female unveiling in this aria and other operas of the time can be found inJeremy Tambling,Opera and the Culture of Fascism, Oxford University Press, 1996. p. 122. (ISBN 0-19-816566-8)

• "E lucevan le stelle", transposed for bass-baritone: Scores at theInternational Music Score Library Project
• Details, Aria Database
• Audio onYouTube,Alfredo Kraus

• Arias by Giacomo Puccini
• Opera excerpts
• 1900 compositions
• Compositions in B minor
• Tenor arias
• Arias in Italian

• Pages using the Score extension
• Articles containing Italian-language text
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hAudio microformats
• Works with IMSLP links
• Articles with International Music Score Library Project links