CTV would like to congratulate the following unofficial winner who have won the Vancouver Opera’s TOSCA! contest:
Jen Rentz of West Vancouver
TOSCA
October 26-November 3, 2013
Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Rollercoaster emotions, intense drama and beautiful music are in store this fall as Vancouver Opera opens the 2013-2014 season with Puccini's exhilarating masterpiece Tosca. Cherished for its heart-wrenching melodies and filled with treachery, murder and indestructible love, Tosca captures the events of a mere 17 hours in the year 1800 amid the political turmoil of Rome.
CTV is giving you the chance to win a night out to see TOSCA! Simply fill out the entry form for your chance to win a 1-night stay at the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver, dinner for two at YEW Seafood & Bar and 2 premium tickets to see TOSCA on Friday, November 1st! Check back here on Monday, October 21st to see if you’re the lucky winner!
THE STORY IN BRIEF
In Rome in 1800, the cruel chief of police, Baron Scarpia, is consumed with desire for Floria Tosca, the city’s most celebrated singer. Using terror, extortion, and fraud, Scarpia threatens Tosca and imprisons her revolutionary lover, Mario Cavaradossi. Before Scarpia can have his way with Tosca, she plunges a knife into his heart. In the opera’s harrowing climax, the lovers are reunited, only to be betrayed, from the grave, by the evil Scarpia.
Set in a time of political and religious upheaval, Puccini’s masterful drama paints three unforgettable portraits: the fiery, pure-hearted Tosca; the passionate political idealist Mario; and the deeply depraved Scarpia. Puccini’s score is filled with soaring melody, authentic Roman atmosphere, and spellbinding tension.
BACKGROUND
Puccini’s Tosca was the last great 19th century opera. When Tosca was first produced in 1900, Puccini already had La bohème and Manon Lescaut under his belt and was being widely hailed as the heir to Verdi’s mantle. With Tosca, Puccini was on fire!
Toscahas everything a really great melodrama should have: sex, politics, and religion—a jealous diva; an artist willing to die to oppose tyranny; a depraved baron hiding a lust for dominance behind a mask of piety; love, jealousy, subterfuge, spies, violence, attempted rape, murder and betrayal. Add to that several of Puccini’s greatest arias and the luscious orchestration and it’s easy to see why Tosca has been one of the most frequently staged works in the operatic repertoire.
The character of Tosca is considered to be one of the composer’s most varied and interesting heroines, fit for great operatic actresses. Indeed, the great Sarah Bernhardt originated the role on stage, and singers of the stature of Maria Callas have created their own indelible interpretations of the operatic version.
Puccini said of Sardou’s play, upon which the opera is based, “in this Tosca I see the opera which exactly suits me, one without excessive proportions, one which is a decorative spectacle and one which gives opportunity for an abundance of music…”
With his uncanny sense of drama and his astonishing musical genius, Puccini delivered an abundance of thrilling music rarely equalled in intensity or effectiveness in his other operas.
Full Ticket Information
Opening night is Saturday, October 26, 2013, with subsequent performances Thursday, October 31; Friday, November 1; Saturday, November 2 at 7:30pm and a matinee performance on Sunday, November 3 at 2:00pm. Single tickets are available from the Vancouver Opera Ticket Centre, online at www.vancouveropera.ca, or by phone at 604-683-0222. Visa, MasterCard and American Express are accepted. Groups: For special pricing for groups of ten or more, call 604-683-0222.
