It is a warm evening, with clear weather, and the theater-goers are grateful for it as they flock upon Covent Garden, anxious to see a spectacle. Many of them are members of England's elite, born to privilege and luxury. One of them is Arthur Kirkland.
He will wonder, later on, if this night was the start of it all, of the troubles to come, and will draw the conclusion that it was. It is an incorrect belief though, for in fact it all started the previous May, one rainy day in Paris.
But tonight the worries of the future are unknown, and the disasters of the present, they will be forgotten for a few hours by those attending the Royal Opera House, as they watch Puccini's new opera. Giacomo Puccini himself will be among the audience, hoping for perfection.
It is July 11, 1900, and Tosca is premiering to all England. It will be a triumph.