My dad and I shared another night of culture together. We got tickets to see Canadian Opera Company‘s production of Tosca which was playing at the Four Seasons Centre. Ticket prices vary from $45 to $320 but those under 30 years old are able to experience the opera for much less.
Photo © Michael Cooper
Synopsis: According to the Canadian Opera Company (COC)’s website, Tosca is one of the best-loved operas of all time. It was written as an opera by Puccini and tells the “tale of a passionate woman caught in a web of corruption, lust, and betrayal has been thrilling audiences since its premiere. This compelling heroine navigates a twisted path through the beautiful and dangerous world of 19th-century Rome”. It is performed in three acts, totalling a performance time of two hours and 40 minutes.
Example of Surtitles
I’ve never seen an opera before, nor have I really listened to one in full at home. It was a great experience to see and listen to an opera, especially one that my dad really wanted to watch. It took me by surprise when we got to the theatre that here was a wide range of age groups and it was decidedly non-stuffy. I was expecting that, like the symphony, there would be a lot more elderly people and that we would have to sit still and quiet. It wasn’t the case – like I said before, there was a wide range of people attending. Also, it was more interactive during the performance as we were able to applaude the performance of a particular song instead of waiting til the end of the act. Each act, surprisingly, went by quite quickly. Since this opera is sung in Italian, the COC originally developed and provides surtitles. Surtitles are translations of the sung or spoken dialogue performed in the opera projected on a screen above the stage. The surtitles were great to follow the dialogue and story. Overall, the evening was wonderful. The performance was great and I’d definitely see another opera.
