Call it the opera version of extreme makeover. Tosca, Giaocomo Puccini’s enduring tale of love and murder first played in Rome in 1900, and has been re-invented more than a century later as Tosca: Desperate Love. The new pop interpretation comes complete with a slim soprano, synthesized sound, amplified voices and high drama that would make even a diva blush.
Some opera purists charge that it’s nothing more than a sexed-up, dumbed-down knock-off that would have Puccini rolling in his grave. But something funny happened on the way to the opera: throngs turned out for the production. And loved it. Opera purists are decrying it as the death of their beloved. An old art’s new incarnation.
Guests:
Marc Scorco, President and CEO of Opera America
Ian
Campbell, General Director of the San Diego Opera
Anthony Tomasini,
Opera Critic for the New York Times.