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Opera Online- Tosca 4

Welcome Teachers and Students to Opera Online!! This week we will take a look at the popularity of Tosca throughout the world. We will also take a virtual tour of Rome.

Video Clip of the Week!!
Tosca is one of Puccini's most famous operas. The music from Tosca has been used in films and has been covered by many non-opera singers.

The first video clip features a section of the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace. The main villian is having a meeting with his accomplices in the middle of a modernized performance of Tosca. James Bond has stolen an ear piece and is listening in on the conversation. Try and figure out what song from Tosca is playing in the background. Why would the director of the movie choose that music to use in the background?

The second clip is a cover of the tenor aria "E lucevan le stelle" by rocker Michael Bolton. Bolton is best known for his songs and soft rock cover. He is most famous for his cover of "When a Man Loves a Woman" and writing the song "Go the Distance" from the Disney movie Hercules. More recently he performed a duet with Lady Gaga called "Murder my Heart". Video clip three is the music video for that song.

Quantum of Solace clip (Hint: it's one of the tracks on the cd!)




Rocker and songwriter Michael Bolton singing "E lucevan le stelle"

"Murder my Heart" music video



Website of the Week!!
Want to see more of the actual places that Tosca was set? Check out these beautiful photos of the Church of Sant'Andrea della Valle and the Farnese Palace (also known as the Palazzo Farnese). Take a 360 degree look at the top of the Castel Sant'Angelo to see what Cavaradossi and Tosca would have seen.


Join us for a Taste of Opera!
If you want to learn more about Puccini's Tosca and his other operas, join us for a Taste of Opera! Taste of Opera will be held this Sunday, April 17, 2011 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 2:00-3:00pm as part of the PAFA Presents series. Join our education director, Michael Bolton, as he explores Puccini's classic arias featuring tenors Sean Arnold, Zach Borichevsky, and Diego Silva. PAFA is located at Broad and Cherry Streets in Philadelphia and after the event you can explore the PAFA's art galleries for free!


Opera on the air!
On Saturday, April 16 at 1 PM radio station WRTI will be broadcasting The Metropolitan Opera production of Alban Berg's Wozzeck. Based on a true story Wozzeck tells the story of a poor soldier whose hand-to-mouth existence climaxed in madness and murder. Conducted by James Levine the cast includes baritone Alan Held as Wozzeck, soprano Waltraud Meier as Marie, tenor Stuart Skelton as The Drum-Major, and bass Walter Fink as the Doctor.

Until Next Week!!

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