Fargo-Moorhead Opera Will Perform TOSCA in October

Fargo-Moorhead Opera will open its 2026-27 season with a production of Giacomo Puccini's “Tosca,” running Oct. 23 and 25 at North Dakota State University's Festival Concert Hall in Fargo, North Dakota.

Performances are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. The production features an entirely local principal cast and tells the story of a singer, her lover and a police chief caught in a political struggle in Rome.

The opera follows Floria Tosca, a celebrated singer, and Mario Cavaradossi, a painter with whom she is in love. Their lives become entangled with Baron Scarpia, Rome's ruthless chief of police. As Scarpia pursues his own objectives, Tosca and Cavaradossi face a series of decisions involving love, loyalty and survival.

Puccini's opera premiered in Rome in 1900 and features some of the composer's best-known music, including the arias “Vissi d'arte” and “E lucevan le stelle.”

The cast includes Heather Hjelle as Tosca, Joshua Kohl as Cavaradossi, Stephen Cunningham as Scarpia, Aidan Anderson as Angelotti and Sciarrone, Chris Fistonich as the Sacristan, Anthony Rohr as Spoletta, Lukas Hegel as the Jailer and Sophia Keller as the Shepherd Boy.

Michelle Rofrano will conduct the production, with Amy Helms directing. Cedar Remmen serves as scenic and lighting designer, Liv Helm is the Costume Designer, Karly Ritland is the chorus master, and Hannah Overbey is the children's chorus master.

The performances will take place at NDSU Festival Concert Hall, located at 1511 12th Ave. N. in Fargo. The production is part of Fargo-Moorhead Opera's 2026-27 season, which also includes “Don Pasquale,” “Roméo et Juliette” and “Die schöne Müllerin.”