A Night at the Opera – Puccini’s Tosca

Fri 27 Sep 2013, 7.30 pm
Cinematheque

From the organizer:

Come to the screening of a classic production of Giacomo Puccini’s opera Tosca.

Tosca is a three-act opera by Giacomo Puccini, based on the melodramatic play by Victorien Sardou. The story involves the singer Floria Tosca, her lover Mario Cavaradossi, and the chief of police Baron Scarpia. When a prisoner escapes and his whereabouts are known only to Cavaradossi and Tosca, Scarpia uses the torture of Cavaradossi to wrest the information from Tosca. Tragedy ensues when all three characters wrongly assume they can get what they desire from the others.

Tosca is structured as a through-composed work, with arias, recitative, choruses and other elements musically woven into a seamless whole. Puccini used Wagnerian leitmotifs (short musical statements) to identify characters, objects and ideas. Three of the best known arias in the entire opera repertory are in the opera, one in each of the acts.

The opera will be screened in the original Italian with English subtitles.

For those with membership at the Cinémathèque, make a reservation as usual by phoning the Cinémathèque, daily between 14:00 – 21:00 at 3936-2648. A limited number of tickets are also available through the Opera Guild, send an email to [email protected]. A donation of VND 60,000 is suggested.