Seoul Opera Company Tosca Opens at Sejong Center on the 5th
Soprano Georgiu Returns to Full Opera Performance After 12 Years
"This year is a very special year commemorating the 100th anniversary of Puccini's death. Puccini's Tosca feels very special to me because the protagonist's profession in the work is the same as mine, an opera singer, so it feels like I am playing myself."
World-renowned soprano Angela Gheorghiu, who returned to Korea after two years, shared her thoughts on performing in Giacomo Puccini's (1858?1924) opera 'Tosca' at a press conference held on the 30th of last month.
The Seoul City Opera will perform Tosca at the Sejong Center Grand Theater from the 5th to the 8th. Gheorghiu will take the stage twice as the lead role Tosca on the 5th and 8th. She returned to Korea after about two years since her recital at the Seoul Arts Center in June 2022. This is her first full opera performance in Korea in 12 years since 'La Boh?me' in 2012.
Tosca is set in 19th-century Northern Italy, occupied by Napoleon's French army. The opera singer Tosca is the lover of the painter Caravadossi. The story unfolds as Caravadossi hides his old friend Angelotti, a political prisoner who escaped from jail. Police chief Scarpia, intending to possess Tosca, arrests Caravadossi, and ultimately Tosca and Caravadossi face a tragic fate.
Director Pyoh Yeon-jin explained that Tosca is a work that makes us reflect on the ongoing tragedies of war even today.
"Artists are professions unrelated to politics, yet they can be politically manipulated very cleverly. The work constantly questions who war serves, what it is for, whether there really is a winner in war, and whether tragic figures like Tosca must continue to appear."
Tosca consists of three acts, each featuring a famous aria. Act 1 has 'Recondita armonia,' Act 2 'Vissi d'arte,' and Act 3 'E lucevan le stelle.' Among these, the aria sung by Tosca is 'Vissi d'arte' in Act 2. The other two arias belong to Caravadossi.
Gheorghiu shared an interesting anecdote about 'Vissi d'arte.'
"At the premiere of Tosca in 1900, the Romanian-born soprano Hariclea Darclee, like me, played Tosca, but until two weeks before the performance, Tosca had no aria. Darclee pleaded with Puccini to compose an aria, and 'Vissi d'arte' was born. Without Darclee, this aria, now beloved and performed by sopranos worldwide, might never have existed."
From the left: Jijeungbae, baritone Samuel Yoon, tenor Kim Jaehyung, soprano Angela Georgiu, Seoul Opera Company director Park Hyejin, soprano Im Sekyung, baritone Yang Junmo, tenor Kim Youngwoo, director Pyo Hyunjin. Photo by Sejong Center for the Performing Arts
Tosca is an opera composed by Puccini after seeing a highly successful play, which is why it is considered the most dramatic among Puccini's works.
Park Hye-jin, director of the Seoul City Opera, introduced, "Tosca is a work formed by the complex encounter of three people: Caravadossi, a painter and revolutionary; Tosca, the greatest singer in Rome and his lover; and Scarpia, the embodiment of desire. It is the most dramatic work among Puccini's operas."
Gheorghiu will perform on stage with tenor Kim Jae-hyung and bass-baritone Samuel Youn. Gheorghiu said, "I performed with Samuel Youn, who plays Scarpia, at Covent Garden when the Royal Opera House produced Tosca, and I was amazed by the fantastic voice of tenor Kim Jae-hyung during rehearsals. Please look forward to the performance."
Soprano Lim Se-kyung will also take on the role of Tosca alongside Gheorghiu. Lim will perform on the 6th and 7th with tenor Kim Young-woo and baritone Yang Jun-mo.
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