BY KAREN BOSSICK
Giacomo Puccini’s 1900 melodrama about a volatile diva, a sadistic police chief and an idealistic artist will take the stage once again on Saturday as “Tosca” is played out for the MET HD: Live opera series.
The screening will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Big Wood 4 Cinemas in Hailey, with doors opening at 10 a.m. Dick Brown will offer a pre-opera lecture at 10:30 a.m.
Tickets are $16, available at the box office.
Sir David McVicar’s production, which runs for nearly three hours with two intermissions, has been called a “smashing new production” and “a grand triumph” by Huffington Post.
It features soprano Sonya Yoncheva as the fiery diva and Vittorio Grigolo as her passionate lover Cavaradossi.
The pair are “youthful, ardent and innocent….their duets electric, their kisses hot and numerous,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Zeljko Lucic matches his imposing figure and voice to the role of the villainous police chief Scarpia.
Their backdrop: Rome in 1800 as Napoleon Is invading Italy.
Emmanuel Villaume is the conductor of the opera, which is one of the most frequently performed operas of all time.