Photos: First Look At Puccini's TOSCA At Opera San José

Opera San José's 2022-23 season concludes with a vivid production of Puccini's thriller Tosca. See photos from the production.

With breathtaking music and some of opera's most celebrated arias, the work follows the tragic story of a tempestuous opera singer and her artist lover, whose illicit involvement with a political prisoner has made them targets of the chief of the secret police. Opera San José Music Director Joseph Marcheso conducts, while OSJ's Resident Director Tara Branham makes her exciting California Theatre mainstage debut. Casting includes Maria Natale as Tosca, Adrian Kramer as Cavaradossi, Kidon Choi as Scarpia, Alexander Scheuermann as Spoletta, Robert Balonek as Angelotti, Igor Vieira as Sacristan, Joshua Hughes as Sciarrone, and Andrew Fellows as Jailer. Tosca, sung in Italian with English and Spanish supertitles, will be presented April 15-30, 2023 (dates/times below) at the California Theatre, 345 South First Street, San Jose. For more information or to purchase tickets ($55-$195), the public can visit operasj.org or call (408) 437-4450 (open Monday through Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm).

Puccini's Tosca premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on January 14, 1900 and has been a hit ever since, remaining one of the most frequently performed operas around the world. Featuring a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, the work is based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French drama La Tosca, which was set in Rome during the height of the Napoleon wars, and premiered at time of political unrest in Italy, with its first performance postponed a day in concern for potential disturbances. Although critics did not rush to praise the work, audiences were rapt, and its powerful score contains some of opera's most iconic music, including the breathtaking soprano aria "Vissi d'arte" ('I lived for art') sung in the second act by Tosca. The tender "Recondita armonia" ('Concealed harmony') performed early in the first act by Cavaradossi (like Verdi, Puccini occasionally enjoyed rewarding prompt opera-goers - or punishing latecomers) has been recorded by famed tenors from Caruso to Luciano Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo. One of the most famous arias in opera, "E lucevan le stelle" ("And the stars were shining"), is performed by Cavaradossi in the third act as he awaits his execution, with vocal pyrotechnics that include a range from F#3 to A4..

The creative team for this production includes Joseph Marcheso (Conductor), Tara Branham (Director), Steven C. Kemp (Scenic Designer), Lee Fiskness (Lighting Designer), Alyssa Oania (Costume Coordinator),Christina Martin (Hair & Makeup Design), Johannes Löhner (Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master), andKaryn Morton (Assistant Director).