#Tosca seattle opera tv

Utah Opera Scenic Charge Artist Dusty Terrell says, “I think that the most remarkable thing about the sets is their historical value.

If you’re a regular opera-goer, you might notice that you don’t see sets like this very often. The set is a beautifully designed “wing-and-drop” owned by the Seattle Opera and designed by the late Ercole Sormani-a master of this set-building method-to create the illusion of more space.Įach set piece is either a “wing” (where the performers enter the stage) or “drop” (the background), painted with incredible detail and forced perspective to look like iconic locations in Rome: the church of Sant’Andrea della Valle, the Palazzo Farnese, and the parapet of the Castel Sant’Angelo. If you had never seen the stage of the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre before seeing the Act I set, you would think that the stage was gigantic. Puccini did incredibly detailed research into exactly when and where the story would take place (Rome over the course of approximately eighteen hours from the afternoon of June 17, 1800, to dawn on June 18, if you were curious) the exact locations of events what was going on in the world at the time and even the pitch of church bells heard in Act I.Īn opera like this creates many logistical challenges, from building costumes that are correct for the time period to sourcing an instrument that not only is the same pitch as the aforementioned church bells-but can also fit in a modern orchestra pit! While some opera companies have ventured to do modern interpretations of Tosca ( like the one from the Bregenzer Festspiele featured in the Bond film, Quantum of Solace), many people love productions that are faithful to the core of the story.įortunately, Utah Opera has an incredible team of artisans, craftspeople, and musicians to bring this classic opera to life the way that Puccini intended. Puccini’s vision for this opera was to base it in verismo or heavy realism-dealing with heavy subjects and naturalistic settings. This was no opera to be based in fairytale or myth as so many of his predecessors had done- he fully embraced verismo, or the “realistic” style of opera characterized by violent plots, naturalistic singing, passionate declamation, and emotionally-charged harmonies and melodies. When Puccini set out to write Tosca, he did his research. Puccini’s Tosca is a prime example of this.

#Tosca seattle opera tv

While a film or television show can be replayed over and over to the same dramatic effect, you only get a few chances to see a piece of theatre before it completely disappears, and no two performances are ever the same.Īnd while your favorite TV show is confined to the flat-screen device in your living room, one of the things that sets theatre-and more so opera-apart from television is how much the production can expand beyond the edges of the stage. In the final act, we hear her doubt when she tells Cavadarossi about the mock execution (“You’ll laugh,” she sings with a quaver) and there is laughter in her voice when for a moment she believes they will escape together.Theatre is a unique form of entertainment. In Act Two, her struggle against Scarpia hints at a rougher past. Her coquetry in Act One seems artificial compared to her insecurity. Lithuanian soprano Ausrine Stundyte brought depth and nuance to the character of Floria Tosca. I could not say that either of the two performances I saw was better, but they were certainly not the same. But people do often think of the opening night performers as the “main cast” and the others as the “second cast” as if one were just backup for the other. A few years ago I got to interview Pacific Northwest Ballet ballet master Otto Neubert and he described the detailed process he schedule different casts for the Nutcracker – balancing opening and closing nights, matinees, and weeknights to guarantee equal exposure for each cast. © Elise Bakketun Both Castsīeyond feeling all the feels all weekend, the most wonderful part of repeated viewing was getting to see both casts.

Stefano Secco (Mario Cavaradossi) and Ausrine Stundyte (Floria Tosca) in Puccini’s Tosca.