Tosca

04/15/11 • 46 min

From Madama Butterfly and Turandot to La bohème’s Mimi, composer giant Giacomo Puccini is famous for the grace and strength of his glorious heroines. Enter Floria Tosca, a diva with flashing eyes and a jealous heart who loves only one man – Mario Cavaradossi. When he is taken as a political prisoner, his captor, Baron Scarpia, has met his match in Cavaradossi’s faithful Tosca. Featuring the breathtaking Te Deum chorus and the renowned tenor anthem E lucevan le stelle, plus one of the most famed soprano arias in all of operatic repertoire, Vissi d’arte, Puccini’s beloved work has not been seen at the Opera Company of Philadelphia for over ten years.
Hosted by OCP's Director of Community Programs Michael Bolton and mezzo-soprano Maren Montalbano, each edition features musical excerpts, plot synopses and background information on the operas, cast and production information, interviews with artists and producers, Academy of Music historical moments and more!

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Romeo & Juliet

Hosted by OCP's Director of Community Programs Michael Bolton and mezzo-soprano Maren Montalbano, each edition features musical excerpts, plot synopses and background information on the operas, cast and production information, interviews with artists and producers, Academy of Music historical moments and more!
Never in the history of romance were two lovers more star-crossed than Shakespeare’s passionate Romeo and Juliet. This universal story has been adapted in countless plays and films, in popular culture and in dance, but perhaps no medium better expresses the love, longing and ultimate tragedy of this fated pair than Gounod’s sweeping and supreme opera. Replete with ecstatic French melodies, this heartbreakingly beautiful production arrives just in time for Valentine’s Day.

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Phaedra

This arresting opera is based on the classic Greek myth of Phaedra, wife of Theseus, the Athenian King who vanquished the dreaded Minotaur. Phaedra’s forbidden and unrequited love for her stepson, Hippolyt, embroils her in a tragic battle between feuding goddesses Aphrodite and Artemis for his affections, and ultimately results in Hippolyt’s demise at his father’s hand and Phaedra’s death at her own. The New York Times praised its 2007 World Premiere for “... a consistent rhythmic vitality and often an otherworldly beauty that is hard to resist.”
A new production for the American Premiere is conceived by Artistic Director Robert B. Driver with designer Philippe Amand, creators of the June 2010 new production of Orphée et Eurydice for the Opera at the Perelman Series. Jack Mulroney Music Director Corrado Rovaris conducts.
Hosted by OCP's Director of Community Programs Michael Bolton and mezzo-soprano Maren Montalbano, In Tune features musical excerpts, plot synopses and background information on the operas, cast and production information, interviews with artists and producers, Academy of Music historical moments and more!