Opening performance
Tosca
with Lise Davidsen, Freddie De Tommaso & Bryn Terfel
Past events:
Artist in Residence Lise Davidsen sings the title role in Puccini’s incisive opera.
Rebellion. Corruption. Jealousy. Torture. A mislaid dagger. And most of all, love.
The ingredients in Puccini's opera are enough for an entire television series, but actually take place in the course of one intense day in Rome in June 1800. When Mario Cavaradossi, a painter, is suspected of harbouring a political refugee, Scarpia, the sadistic chief of police, sees his chance, not only to catch the rebel but also to win Cavaradossi's lover, the famous opera singer Floria Tosca. Neither Scarpia nor Tosca spare any means to get what they want.
The Bergen International Festival opens with a concert version of the opera, with moving duets and some of the world's best-known arias, including Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore (Tosca's Prayer) and E lucevan le stelle (And the stars were shining).
Artist in Residence Lise Davidsen, soprano, makes her stage debut in the title role. Her revolutionary lover is portrayed by the British-Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso, while the evil Roman police chief is played by the Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel.
In the opening performance of the Bergen International Festival this fatal trefoil takes the stage accompanied by Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, Edvard Grieg Kor and Edvard Grieg Boys Choir.
Image: Lise Davidsen (photo: Morten Krogvold), Freddie De Tommaso (photo: Craig Gibson), Bryn Terfel (photo: Johannes Ifkovits)
Information
Wednesday 24 May at 17:50–18:10: Introduction in English by John Allison, editor of Opera Magazine, in the foyer Spissen.
Friday 26 May at 18:00–18:50: Introduction in Norwegian by writer and lecturer Sverre Gunnar Haga in the foyer Spissen.
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Read about soprano and artist in residence Lise
Davidsen here.
- Opera
Venue
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Grieghallen
Accessible with wheelchair Designed for hearing impaired
Duration
2 h 25 min incl. interval
Tickets
Purchase ticket
Language
Performed in Italian, surtitles in Norwegian and English.
Contributors
- Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
- Edward Gardner conductor
- Jesper Kongshaug lighting design
- Nicolai Riise concert staging
- Lise Davidsen Floria Tosca
- Freddie De Tommaso Mario Cavaradossi
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Bryn Terfel Baron Scarpia
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Ashley Riches Cesare Angelotti
- Christian Valle A Sacristan
- Kjetil Støa Spoletta
- Ludvig Lindström Sciarrone
- Olav Frøyen Sandvik A Shepherd boy
- David Hansford A Jailer
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Edvard Grieg Choir
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Edvard Grieg Boys Choir
- Bergen Philharmonic Choir
- Collegium Musicum's Choir
- Håkon Matti Skrede chorus master
Produced by
Bergen International Festival in collaboration with Bergen National Opera and Musikkselskapet Harmonien
Music by
- Puccini
