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Why does Cavaradossi shout “Vittoria!” after hearing news of the Battle of Marengo?

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Art Nouveau poster by Adolfo Hohenstein for Puccini's opera Tosca, showing a woman in a gold dress standing over a fallen figure, with dramatic red and black background and bold title text. — Tosca Poster by Adolfo Hohenstein for Giacomo Puccini's opera *Tosca*, 1906.

In the opera Tosca, the painter Mario Cavaradossi shouts “Vittoria!” as an act of defiance against Baron Scarpia after learning that Napoleon Bonaparte has won the Battle of Marengo.1

Because Cavaradossi is a political dissident and a sympathizer of the revolutionary cause, the news of Napoleon’s victory represents a significant defeat for the forces of Scarpia, the oppressive police chief who has imprisoned him. By shouting “Vittoria!” (Victory!), Cavaradossi expresses his joy at the potential collapse of Scarpia’s regime and his hope for the liberation of Rome.21