Witness how the lives of a volatile diva, a sadistic police chief, and an idealistic artist unfold in the cinematic screening of Giacomo Puccini’s classic opera ‘Tosca,’ the next installation of CCP’s The Met: LIVE in HD Season 10 at 5:30 p.m. on April 10 at Glorietta 4 Cinema 1 in Makati City.
One of the much-awaited operas to date due to its timeless and powerful story, musical masterpieces, and dramatic staging, the three-act Italian opera features an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. The opera contains depictions of torture, murder, and suicide, as well as some of Puccini’s best-known lyrical arias.
For this special screening, Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen stars as the volatile diva Floria Tosca for her first time at the Metropolitan Theater of New York. It also features British Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso in his eagerly anticipated company debut as Tosca’s revolutionary lover, Cavaradossi, and powerhouse baritone Quinn Kelsey as the sadistic chief of police Scarpia.
David McVicar is director; Met music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the score, which features some of Puccini’s most memorable melodies.
Premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on January 14, 1900, Tosca is one of Puccini’s most popular works. He created the work based on Victorien Sardou’s 1887 French dramatic play, La Tosca, a melodramatic piece set in Rome in June 1800 during the time when French general and statesman Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Italy threatened the Kingdom of Naples’s control of Rome.
Through the years, critics often wrote about Tosca’s rather grungy subject matter, the directness and intensity of its score, and the crowd-pleasing dramatic opportunities it provides for its lead roles. But these same aspects have made Tosca one of a handful of iconic works that seem to represent opera in the public imagination.
Tosca’s popularity is further secured by a superb and exhilarating dramatic sweep, a luscious score, theatrical shrewdness, and a career-defining title role.
The CCP’s The Met: LIVE in HD is presented by the Cultural Center of the Philippines, in partnership with the Metropolitan Opera of New York, the Filipinas Opera Society Foundation, Inc. and Ayala Malls cinemas. It is a series of screenings of the latest opera performances by the Metropolitan Opera of New York, delivered in high-definition video and Dolby surround sound.
This project also corresponds with the CCP’s commitment to foster a national appreciation for all art forms, inviting Filipino audiences to embrace new artistic horizons.
Regular tickets for the CCP’s The Met: LIVE in HD are priced at P350. Students and young professionals may avail themselves of the special discounted price of P100 upon presenting a valid ID. Visit the venue’s ticket booth or book them online via www.sureseats.com for tickets.
