Seoul Opera Company Puccini Masterpiece 'Tosca' Performance

From November 11 to 15 at Sejong Center Grand Theater

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] The Sejong Center Seoul City Opera Company will perform Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca at the Sejong Center Grand Theater from November 11 to 15.

Tosca is a work Puccini conceived after being deeply impressed by the 5-act play La Tosca by 19th-century French playwright Victorien Sardou. Librettists Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa reduced the original 5-act play to 3 acts, and Puccini added music, resulting in Tosca, one of Puccini's three representative operas.

Tosca is an opera depicting the tragic story of three men and women that unfolds in a single day. The love, jealousy, greed, and hatred among the heroine Tosca, her lover the painter Cavaradossi, and the powerful police chief Scarpia who desires Tosca are portrayed on stage with Puccini's exquisite music. At the time, the opera was criticized for its violent and inhumane depiction of torture, murder, suicide, and betrayal on stage, but Puccini transformed all of this into a dramatic and captivating melody-filled work of art.

Tosca is also famous for its exquisite arias such as "Vissi d'arte" and "E lucevan le stelle." Set in Rome, Italy, which was under Austrian rule after the French Revolution, the story unfolds at real locations in Rome including the Church of Sant'Andrea della Valle, the Farnese Palace, and Castel Sant'Angelo.

This performance will feature conductor Kim Deok-gi, who has earned deep trust from opera experts by conducting over 50 operas with outstanding interpretive skills, and director Choi Ji-hyung, who has staged numerous operas including The Magic Flute and Andrea Ch?nier, presenting an even more dramatic Tosca. Additionally, three different teams will showcase their unique versions of Tosca, including Se Kyung Lim, the first Korean lead at the Verona Arena Festival, Shin Sang-geun, a lead at the Metropolitan Opera, and tenor Yang Jun-mo, a principal singer at the Semperoper Dresden in Germany.

The heroine and soprano role of Tosca will be performed by Kim Ra-hee, Se Kyung Lim, and Jung Joo-hee. The role of Cavaradossi, Tosca's lover and painter, will be sung by tenors Han Yoon-seok, Shin Sang-geun, and Eom Seong-hwa. The powerful police chief Scarpia, who desires Tosca, will be portrayed by baritones Jang Sung-il, Yang Jun-mo, and Jung Joon-sik. The political prisoner and friend of Cavaradossi, Angelotti, will be performed by basses Park Jun-hyuk and Choi Gong-seok. The police inspector Spoletta, subordinate to Scarpia, will be sung by tenors Kim Dong-seop and Wi Jeong-min. The sacristan Sacristano will be performed by bass-baritone Seong Seung-min and baritone Jang Cheol-yu. The military policeman Sharone will be portrayed by bass Song Dae-seop, and the jailer roles will be performed by basses Sim Ki-bok and Lee Jun-bong.

The Seoul City Opera Company announced that it will strictly adhere to COVID-19 prevention guidelines, including daily theater disinfection, QR code health questionnaires, temperature checks, and mask-wearing during the performances.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.