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You've probably heard how all three original stars dropped out of the Metropolitan Opera's new "Tosca" and how the conductor had to be replaced twice. But did you know about the flap over the angel's wings? A replica of the bronze statue of Archangel Michael that stands on the roof of Rome's Castel Sant'Angelo sword in hand was supposed to dominat...

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At the Millbrook Library last Saturday Millbrook Arts Group in conjunction with Catskill Jazz Factory presented Puccini Meets Bechet: Parallels in Opera & Jazz with Aaron Johnson Trio. The parallel dimensions of jazz and opera collide with this condensed chamber group featuring operatic vocals, piano, clarinet and soprano saxophone. Multi-instrumen...

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A wise man of opera once said in my hearing, testifying to the enduring emotional impact of Puccini: “When I no longer cry at ‘Boheme,’ I quit.” The same should be said of “La Fanciulla del West,” from “Ch’ella mi creda” to the end – and so it is with Lillian Groag’s production that opened on Nov. 10 at the Virginia Opera in Norfolk, with performan...

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An icy princess is terrified of love. A mysterious prince solves three riddles and melts her heart while breaking another's. Love triumphs, but it's complicated. Starring Amber Wagner, Stefano La Colla, Maria Agresta/Janai Brugger Turandot (1926), the final work of Giacomo Puccini's career, showcases the composer's magnificent melodic outpourings a...

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Every four or five years almost since it was launched in Tucson in 1971, Arizona Opera has performed Puccini’s popular Italian melodrama “Tosca,” and Joseph Specter has an idea why: There’s just something about Puccini that is irresistible. “Puccini and this work are always such a powerful combination of engaging people in opera,” said the Arizona...

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Arizona Opera is proud to present the first Mainstage production of its 2017/18 Season, Giacomo Puccini's Tosca, one of the most exciting and dramatic operas of all time. Set in the turmoil of Rome in 1800, Tosca is one of opera's greatest stories, filled with heartbreak and revenge. The beautiful and fiery Italian diva, Floria Tosca, is passionate...

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You’ve always thought about going to an opera, but, well, it just seems so darned…operatic. Too big, too much, not relatable. And then, of course, there’s Tosca. Boston Lyric Opera Artistic Director Esther Nelson describes Puccini’s opera as the “gateway drug” for newcomers to opera, because once you hear it, you’re hooked. Nelson took time to spea...

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Lucine Amara, Artistic Director of the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera, announces the cast performing in Giacomo Puccini's Tosca on Sunday, October 15, 2017. Under Amara, one of the Metropolitan Opera's finest performers of Tosca, Verismo Opera, the Bergen Performing Arts Center's (bergenPAC) house opera company in Englewood, New Jersey, pr...

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Most hands do not go up when I ask my audiences, “Who is an opera fan?” It’s as if I had asked, “Who is a big fan of brussels sprouts?” Yes, there will be a few enthusiasts, but most faces go neutral, some almost grimacing.  While it’s true that it is the most expensive performance art form in the world, opera’s power lies in the most human of expe...

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L'opera piu' americana di Giacomo Puccini ha stregato di nuovo New York. 'La Fanciulla del West' ha aperto la stagione lirica della New York City Opera, strizzando l'occhio alla precedente produzione del Metropolitan Opera, ed e' stata accolta con tutto il calore e l'entusiasmo che il capolavoro di Puccini merita. 'La Fanciulla del West' ha portato...

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