Puccini's Tosca Is April 8, 2023, Saturday Matinee Radio Broadcast

Summary: Puccini's Tosca is the April 8, 2023, Saturday matinee radio broadcast, airing as the 15th of the 2022-2023 season's 24 Saturday radio broadcasts.

Angela Gheorghiu sings Tosca in 2022-2023 season's Saturday matinee radio broadcast, April 8 (fourth spring performance; 13th of season's 15 performances), and Wednesday, April 12 (fifth spring performance; 14th of season's 15 performances): Angela Gheorghiu @angelagheorghiu, via Twitter March 20, 2023

Puccini's Tosca is the April 8, 2023, Saturday matinee radio broadcast, airing at 1:00 p.m., Eastern Time, as the 15th of the 2022-2023 Met Opera season's lineup of 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts.

Nineteenth-century Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924) set his musical score for Tosca to an Italian libretto co-written by his La Bohème (1896) librettists, Italian librettist and playwright Giuseppe Giacosa (Oct. 21, 1847-Sep. 1, 1906) and Italian librettist Luigi Illica (May 9, 1857-Dec. 16, 1919). Giacosa and Illica sourced their libretto from a five-act drama, La Tosca, by 19th-century French playwright Victorien Sardou (Sep. 5, 1831-Nov. 8, 1908). Sardou specifically wrote the historical drama for French stage actress Sarah Bernhardt (Oct. 22/23?, 1844-March 26, 1923).

Puccini’s Tosca premiered Sunday, Jan. 14, 1900, at Teatro Costanzi in Rome, Italy. Tosca was the only Puccini opera with a Roman premiere. Now known as Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and simplified as Teatro dell'Opera, the opera house is located on Piazza Beniamino Gigli in central Rome.

The United States premiere of Tosca took place Monday, Feb. 4, 1901, at the Metropolitan Opera House, located at 1411 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan's Garment District. The opera company offered seven performances of Tosca in the 1900-1901 season.

The 2022-2023 Met Opera season presents Tosca as the third revival of the new production debuted by Scottish opera and theatre director Sir David McVicar in the 2017-2018 season. The first revival took place in the 2018-2019 season. The second revival, originally scheduled for the 2019-2020 season but cancelled due to the Covid-19 virus pandemic, was held in the 2021-2022 season. Sir David had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Feb. 16, 2009, in the opera company's 600th performance of Il Trovatore by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

The third revival of McVicar's Tosca production receives 15 performances, divided between two seasonal casts, in the 2022-2023 season. Opening night Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, ushered the season's nine autumn performances of Tosca. The second through ninth performances took place Saturday, Oct. 8, at 1:00 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 15, at 8:00 p.m.; Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 8:00 p.m.; Monday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m.; Monday, Oct. 31, at 8:00 p.m.; and Friday, Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m.

Six spring dates begin Thursday, March 30, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. The season's last five performances of Tosca are scheduled for Sunday matinee, April 2, at 3:00 p.m.; Wednesday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday matinee radio broadcast, April 8, at 1:00 p.m.; Wednesday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m.; and closing, Saturday, April 15, at 8:00 p.m.

Domingo Hindoyan conducts all six spring performances, including the Saturday matinee radio broadcast, April 8. The Venezuelan-Swiss conductor had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, in the opera company's 293rd performance of L'Elisir d'Amore by Italian composer Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848).

Angela Gheorghiu appears in the Saturday matinee radio broadcast, April 8, and in the fifth spring performance, Wednesday, April 12, as impassioned Floria Tosca. The Romanian soprano had made her Met Opera debut Saturday, Dec. 4, 1993, as Mimì in the opera company's 999th performance of Puccini's La Bohème.

Angela Gheorghiu first added the role to her Met Opera portfolio in the 2015-2016 season's fifth revival of the new Tosca production debuted by Swiss theatre and film director Luc Bondy (July 17, 1948-Nov. 28, 2015) in the 2009-2010 Met Opera season. Swiss theatre and film director had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Sep. 21, 2009, in his new Tosca production during the opera company's 892nd performance of Puccini's Rome-set opera.

Angela Gheorghiu shares spring's Tosca with Liudmyla Monastyrska, who sings the title role in the first three and closing, sixth spring performances. The Ukrainian soprano had made her Met Opera debut Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, in the title role in the opera company's 1,123rd performance of Verdi's Aida.

Liudmyla Monastyrska's spring Tosca adds a second season in the role to her Met Opera portfolio. Her Met Opera role debut as Tosca had occurred in the 2015-2016 season's fifth revival of the 2009-2010 season's new Tosca production by Luc Bondy.

Matthew Polenzani appears in all six spring performances, including the Saturday matinee radio broadcast, April 8, as Cavaradossi, whose life Tosca naively assumes has been spared and whose murder she avenges. The American lyric tenor had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Dec. 19, 1997, as Khrushchov in the opera company’s 251st performance of Boris Godunov by Russian composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (March 21, 1839-March 28, 1881).

Željko Lučić appears in all six performances as Scarpia, whose broken promise to spare Cavaradossi's life triggers his fatal stabbing by Tosca. The Serbian operatic baritone had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Sep. 26, 2006, as Barnaba in the opera company’s 275th performance of La Gioconda by 19th-century Italian opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli (Aug. 31, 1834-Jan. 16, 1886).

Željko Lučić's appearances in the third revival mark his fifth season as Scarpia. He first added the role to his Met Opera portfolio in the 2015-2016 season's fifth revival of the new Tosca production Luc Bondy had debuted in the 2009-2010 Met Opera season.

Željko Lučić revisited Scarpia in the debut of Sir David's new Tosca production in the 2017-2018 season. His first reprisal of McVicar's Scarpia had occurred, with one performance, in the production's first revival in the 2018-2019 season. His second reprisal of McVicar's Scarpia, which took place in the production's second revival in the 2021-2022 season, marked his fourth season in the role at the Metropolitan Opera.

Patrick Carfizzi appears in all 15 (nine autumn, six spring) performances, including the Saturday matinee radio broadcast, April 8, as the Sacristan. His appearances in the third revival mark his third reprisal of the role that he had added to his Met Opera portfolio in the new production's debut season, 2017-2018. His first and second reprisals aligned with the production's first and second revivals. The American bass-baritone had made his Met Opera debut Christmas Eve, Friday, Dec. 24, 1999, as Count Ceprano in the opera company’s 736th performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto.

David McVicar's Tosca production team comprises John Macfarlane, scenic and costume designer; David Finn, lighting designer; and Leah Hausman, movement director. Scottish designer John Macfarlane had made his Met Opera debut Christmas Eve, Monday, Dec. 24, 2007, in the opera company's 240th performance of Hänsel und Gretel by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck (Sep. 1, 1854-Sep. 27, 1921). American lighting designer David Finn had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Feb. 15, 2013, in the opera company's 289th performance of Parsifal by German Romantic era composer-librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883). American choreographer Leah Hausman had made her Met Opera debut Monday, Feb. 16, 2009, alongside Sir David, in the opera company's 600th performance of Verdi's Il Trovatore.

The 2022-2023 Met Opera season's lineup of Saturday matinee broadcasts continues with the April 15, 2023, airing of Puccini's Tosca at noon, 12:00 p.m. The matinee performance numbers as the 16th of the season's 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts.

Domingo Hindoyan conducts the 2022-2023 Met Opera season's spring performances of Puccini's Tosca as the second opera in his Met Opera portfolio; his wife, Sonya Yoncheva, sang her ninth Met Opera role in Giordano's Fedora, which opened as a new production for the 2022-2023 season's New Year's Eve gala, and her 10th Met Opera role in spring performances of Bellini's Norma: Domingo Hindoyan, via Facebook Jan. 6, 2023

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

Angela Gheorghiu sings Tosca in 2022-2023 season's Saturday matinee radio broadcast, April 8 (fourth spring performance; 13th of season's 15 performances), and Wednesday, April 12 (fifth spring performance; 14th of season's 15 performances): Angela Gheorghiu @angelagheorghiu, via Twitter March 20, 2023, @ https://twitter.com/angelagheorghiu/status/1637835799163985926

Domingo Hindoyan conducts the 2022-2023 Met Opera season's spring performances of Puccini's Tosca as the second opera in his Met Opera portfolio; his wife, Sonya Yoncheva, sang her ninth Met Opera role in Giordano's Fedora, which opened as a new production for the 2022-2023 season's New Year's Eve gala, and her 10th Met Opera role in spring performances of Bellini's Norma: Domingo Hindoyan, via Facebook Jan. 6, 2023, @ https://www.facebook.com/domingo.hindoyan/posts/pfbid02kH6dXTzPcXE7z8AsVQNZEQBvJ49LafStNTGQ5PgUcNybsxVCphKn4MV9xCot4Xagl

For further information:

Angela Gheorghiu @angelagheorghiu. "Looking forward to returning at the @MetOpera for two performances of Puccini’s Tosca on April 8 and April 12. Save the dates!" Twitter. March 20, 2023.
Available via Twitter @ https://twitter.com/angelagheorghiu/status/1637835799163985926br />

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Domingo Hindoyan. "Feliz año 2023 para todos!" Facebook Jan. 6, 2023.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/domingo.hindoyan/posts/pfbid02kH6dXTzPcXE7z8AsVQNZEQBvJ49LafStNTGQ5PgUcNybsxVCphKn4MV9xCot4Xagl

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