Puccini’s ‘Tosca’ from China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts on WHRO-FM

This Saturday, tune in WHRO-FM at 1 pm for an afternoon of love, jealousy, political oppression and sacrifice with Puccini’s “Tosca.”
In the beautiful Italian city of Rome, singer Tosca loves painter Cavaradossi, who is helping a political prisoner escape. The ruthless police chief Scarpia exploits Tosca's jealousy to capture Cavaradossi. He offers to save her lover in exchange for herself, but Tosca kills him. She then discovers that Scarpia has deceived her: Cavaradossi's execution is real. After he is shot, Tosca realizes there is no escape and throws herself from Castel Sant'Angelo. The title role of the cast is embodied by outstanding soprano Monica Zanettin, who brings the dramatic power and lyrical delicacy that Tosca demands. The idealistic artist and political sympathizer Cavaradossi is portrayed by tenor Han Peng who brings both passion and tenderness to his relationship with Tosca. With his substantial and commanding baritone, Ambrogio Maestri is ideally suited to Puccini’s great villain. He embodies Scarpia with the authority of a powerful police chief while also conveying his cruelty, manipulation, and disturbing sensuality. As this opera unfolds over the course of a single day, the atmosphere is particularly important. Thus, Puccini's score is intensely theatrical, with the orchestra almost functioning like a film soundtrack, constantly responding to the action. The recurring musical ideas also help maintain the sense that the three acts are part of one continuous dramatic crisis. Conductor Xu Zhong controls Puccini’s enormous orchestral climaxes while maintaining clarity for the singers, allowing the composer’s rich orchestral colors to emerge.
This Saturday at 1:00 p.m., tune in to WHRO-FM 90.3 for this beloved Italian opera, and experience how its plot, music, and unforgettable arias inexorably move toward the final tragedy. Don’t forget that you can also listen online via our Media Player.