Hello Gentlemen,
It's Asian Nicole. Last night, my darling French ballet professor invited me to see a great opera-'Tosca' (from April 30 to May 20, 2017). It is the last opera of the Canadian Opera Company's (2016-2017) season. Tosca is one of Puccini's most renowned works: La bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), and Madama Butterfly (1904), all of which are among the important operas played as standards. I was very delighted to accompany him to see this wonderful opera at the Four Season Centre, downtown, Toronto.
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 – 29 November 1924) to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dramatic play, La Tosca, is a melodramatic piece set in Rome in June 1800, with the Kingdom of Naples's control of Rome threatened by Napoleon's invasion of Italy. It contains depictions of torture, murder and suicide, as well as some of Puccini's best-known lyrical arias.
Musically, Tosca is structured as a through-composed work, with arias, recitative, choruses and other elements musically woven into a seamless whole. Puccini used short musical statements to identify characters, objects and ideas. The dramatic force of Tosca and its characters continues to fascinate both performers and audiences, and the work remains one of the most frequently performed operas. Many recordings of the work have been issued, both of studio and live performances.
Tosca is a story of political intrigue, murder, lust and a jealous soprano. (No, really, this is on stage, not in the wings.) A Parisian critic wrote after its 1900 opening that Tosca “is coarsely puerile, pretentious and vapid.” The other critic called it a "shabby little shocker". The popular phrase “shabby little shocker” actually comes from musicologist Joseph Kerman’s 1956 book Opera as Drama, not from Puccini’s time, as I’d always thought. Puerile or not, Tosca can always be counted on to sell tickets, and audiences leave humming its melodies. When done well, Tosca can be devastating.
Canadian Opera Company's TOSCA is a Total Triumph, from the moment the orchestra plays its first note, the production is pure magic. Also largely due to the singing and acting of its star--Adrianne Pieczonka . Her Tosca was jealous, of course, but also impetuous, loving, fearful, dominant and a thousand other conflicting traits, often at the same time. Gorgeous music, grand sets and gripping performances coexist seamlessly in Paul Curran's production of one of opera's most famous tragic love stories.
Wow...Thanks so much once again for the phenomenal opera show, my darling French ballet professor! I had a great time with you and enjoyed this opera a lot!
It's Asian Nicole. Last night, my darling French ballet professor invited me to see a great opera-'Tosca' (from April 30 to May 20, 2017). It is the last opera of the Canadian Opera Company's (2016-2017) season. Tosca is one of Puccini's most renowned works: La bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), and Madama Butterfly (1904), all of which are among the important operas played as standards. I was very delighted to accompany him to see this wonderful opera at the Four Season Centre, downtown, Toronto.
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 – 29 November 1924) to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dramatic play, La Tosca, is a melodramatic piece set in Rome in June 1800, with the Kingdom of Naples's control of Rome threatened by Napoleon's invasion of Italy. It contains depictions of torture, murder and suicide, as well as some of Puccini's best-known lyrical arias.
Musically, Tosca is structured as a through-composed work, with arias, recitative, choruses and other elements musically woven into a seamless whole. Puccini used short musical statements to identify characters, objects and ideas. The dramatic force of Tosca and its characters continues to fascinate both performers and audiences, and the work remains one of the most frequently performed operas. Many recordings of the work have been issued, both of studio and live performances.
Tosca is a story of political intrigue, murder, lust and a jealous soprano. (No, really, this is on stage, not in the wings.) A Parisian critic wrote after its 1900 opening that Tosca “is coarsely puerile, pretentious and vapid.” The other critic called it a "shabby little shocker". The popular phrase “shabby little shocker” actually comes from musicologist Joseph Kerman’s 1956 book Opera as Drama, not from Puccini’s time, as I’d always thought. Puerile or not, Tosca can always be counted on to sell tickets, and audiences leave humming its melodies. When done well, Tosca can be devastating.
Canadian Opera Company's TOSCA is a Total Triumph, from the moment the orchestra plays its first note, the production is pure magic. Also largely due to the singing and acting of its star--Adrianne Pieczonka . Her Tosca was jealous, of course, but also impetuous, loving, fearful, dominant and a thousand other conflicting traits, often at the same time. Gorgeous music, grand sets and gripping performances coexist seamlessly in Paul Curran's production of one of opera's most famous tragic love stories.
Wow...Thanks so much once again for the phenomenal opera show, my darling French ballet professor! I had a great time with you and enjoyed this opera a lot!
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