By Town Crier Staff Report
West Bay Opera this weekend launches its 47th season in Palo Alto. The locally-based company’s production of “Tosca” opens Friday and runs through Oct. 20 at the Lucie Stern Theatre.
David Sloss (music director) and Kenneth Tigar (stage director) helm “Tosca,” which will be sung in Italian, with English supertitles.
The cast features Gabriel Reoyo-Pazos (of Los Angeles) and Kenneth Morris (New York) alternating as Cavaradossi; Michael Morris (Cupertino) and Scott Bearden (San Jose) sharing the role of Scarpia; Julie Kierstine (San Mateo) and Tracy Saliefendic (Van Nuys) alternating as Tosca; Rick Williams (San Francisco) as Sacristan; Gary Ruschman (San Francisco) as Spoletta; Daniel Morris (San Jose) as Angelotti; and Andrew Soloway (Belmont) as Sciarrone.
Working behind the scenes with the directors will be Jean Francois Revon (set designer), Chad Bonaker (lighting), Latifa Medjdoub (costumes) and Rande Harris (make-up/hair).
“Tosca,” with music by Giacomo Puccini, is based on the play “La Tosca” by Victorien Sardou, a French dramatist. Sardou wrote it for famed actress Sarah Bernhardt.
“Tosca” is set in 1800 Rome, which was suffering under a corrupt government. The villain Scarpia, police chief of Rome, is driven to possess the lovely Tosca. Faced with either submitting to this monster of a man or seeing her lover die, Tosca explodes in violence herself.
The opera was first performed in January of 1900 at the Teatro Constanzi in Rome. West Bay last performed “Tosca” in February of 1977.
West Bay’s other operas for the 2002-03 season will include Giuseppe Verdi’s “Un ballo in maschera” (Feb. 14-23) and Jacques Offenbach’s “La Perichole” (May 23-June 1).
Performances of “Tosca” are scheduled for 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m., Sundays. The Lucie Stern Theatre is located at 1305 Middlefield Road.
Tickets are $42, with a special $21 youth ticket (for those under 18) offered for Sunday matinees. Season subscriptions are $110.
For tickets and more information, call the West Bay box office (open 1-6 p.m., weekdays) at 424-9999, logon to wbopera.org or visit the office at the Holt Building, 221 Lambert Ave., Palo Alto.
