Skylight Music Theatre opens its season with one of the most vicious love triangles in all opera (that’s saying plenty!)—Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, wherein the budding romance of devout Floria Tosca and artist Mario Cavaradossi is poisoned by Baron Vitellio Scarpia—one of opera’s blackest villains.
“It’s absolutely true that one often sees Tosca in a highly produced staging,” Skylight’s Artistic and Music Director Viswa Subbaraman remarks, but “the hallmark of the Skylight is to step back and take a new, fresh look at the operas we know so well. … Fundamentally, Tosca is a tragic love story, so we wanted to delve into the emotional impact of each moment as opposed to dwelling on the gilding that is often in the production.”
Regarding the three principals in the upcoming performances: Cassandra Black (Tosca), Chaz’men Williams-Ali (Cavaradossi) and David Kravitz (Scarpia), Subbaraman explaines: “Cassandra and I have worked on numerous productions together … Chaz returns to the Skylight [in this production] after having been in Once On This Island last year. This will be David’s first appearance at the Skylight.” He adds, “I couldn’t be prouder of the talent these three bring to the Skylight stage. This is—from the chorus to the principals—one of the best collections of singers and actors I have ever worked with.”
As for the opera itself and its place in music history, Subbaraman remarks: “As we have spent the past few weeks staging the work, I don’t think a rehearsal has gone by when someone hasn’t exclaimed, ‘Puccini is brilliant!’ The music is incredibly substantive and truly drives the dramatic tension of the work.”
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Skylight Music Theatre’s Tosca appears at the Broadway Theatre Center’s Cabot Theatre, 158 N. Broadway, Sept. 25-Oct. 11.
