Presenting Puccini's 'Tosca'

Opera Coeur d’Alene is bringing one of the most widely performed operas to the Lake City.

Puccini’s “Tosca” will be performed Friday, Aug. 18, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 20, at 12:30 p.m. at North Idaho College’s Schuler Auditorium.

As a result of wars in 19th Century Europe, Rome was occupied by the French; then by the Neapolitans; and then again by the French. It is in this tumult that the opera “Tosca” is set.

Floria Tosca and a painter, Mario Cavaradossi, are the love interests. Another key player is Caesare Angelotti, a former consul of Rome who has escaped from imprisonment by the French. After a spat of emotion- charged jealousy Tosca and Cavaradossi participate in aiding Angelotti in his attempt to evade the French police who are looking for him. The plot takes another turn when Baron Scarpia, the chief of police, decides he is interested in Tosca. What follows is deception upon deception and finally death.

Soprano Jill Gardner will sing the role of Floria Tosca. Considered one of the great interpreters of the title role of “Tosca,” she recently performed the role with several different opera houses, including Opera Carolina, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Arizona Opera, Lyric Opera Baltimore, Toledo Opera, Piedmont Opera, Mill City Summer Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera.

Opera News calls Ms. Gardner’s interpretation of Tosca “fresh and focused” and states “in Gardner’s hands, her Act II aria, ‘Vissi d’arte,’ was not merely a famous showstopper but an opportunity to reveal layers of Tosca’s character…”

Bass-baritone Jake Gardner, Jill’s husband, will appear in the role of the evil Baron Scarpia. Jake has performed with major opera companies and orchestras worldwide. He has sung in Germany, the UK, The Netherlands as well as with numerous opera companies in this country. After recent performances of Michele and Gianni Schicchi in Puccini’s Il Trittico, the Honolulu Advertiser noted, “Words fail with baritone Jake Gardner, who did not play his roles so much as became them — wonderful voice, wonderful actor.”

Canadian Roger Honeywell sings the role of Tosca’s love interest, Mario Cavaradossi. His repertoire includes a wide variety of engagements from Ahab in “Moby Dick” to Eisenstein in “Der Fledermaus.” Recent appearances include at Covent Garden in London. “Honeywell’s stage sense is second to none, so his judiciously nuanced dramatic performance was foreseeable; the tenor has come into his own technically as well and delivered a prodigious vocal performance impressive for its remarkable skill in dynamic shading, as well as its dramatic power,” said an Opera News review.

The principals are rounded out with Valerian Ruminski. With a performance described by the Irish Times as “sonorous, stately and authoritative,” Ruminski sings the role of the grumbling sacristan. He has performed in New York, Calgary, Seattle and Montreal.

Tickets cost $13 to $59 and can be purchased by visiting operacda.com. Tickets will also be available at the door.