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UF Opera Theatre in Tosca
April 16, 2009 at 7:30 pm; April 18, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Location: Phillips Center
Buy tickets online!
Prices: $35, Orchestra Rows A-P and Mezzanine; $30, Orchestra Rows Q-Z; $25, Balcony.
Intense drama and passion erupt in this story of the beautiful Tosca, a woman fighting for her lover’s life in a time of political turmoil. Dr. Elizabeth Graham, internationally-renowned soprano, joins the cast in the title role. Dr. Anthony Offerle, Director of the UF Opera Theatre, brings together an ensemble of internationally-recognized artists along with the talented graduate and undergraduate performers of the College of Fine Arts. Celebrated stage director Tony Mata and the University of Florida Symphony Orchestra, who collaborated in 2007 for La Traviata, once again join the Opera Theatre for this production.
Comments?
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Questions about tickets or seat availability should be directed to the Box Office.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Loved the performance. New policy of checking tickets within a few feet of entrance creates congestion and problems for entering the theater. Perhaps push the ropes a few feet back please?
April 20th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
TOSCA WAS TRULY OUTSTANDING. ILOVED THE SETS, I LOVED THE ORCHESTRA AND MOST OF ALL I LOVED THE SINGERS, ESPECIALLY ELIZABETH GRAHAM…SHE WAS AMAZING. I’VE HEARD HER MANY TIMES OVER THE YEARS AT UF, BUT NEVER BEFORE LIKE THIS!
CONGRATULATIONS!
ELAINE FUNK
April 20th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Bravo !!!!!!!!!! This was my daughters first opera and she loved it. Great performance.
April 20th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Tosca was excellent. The orchestration was really right on. The shepherd song beginning the last act was truly uniquely and very well done. We have been to the Met in NY, the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach and the Performing Arts Center in Ft Lauderdale and Tosca was as enjoyable an experience as we have had at the opera. Keep up the fine work and if you could do two a season you would double our enjoyment.
Tom and Anita Martinetto
April 20th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I drove in from Orlando for this performance and I felt that I was cheated.
The performers were OK and about what I expected. The scenery was also presentable - but why did you eliminate the candle sticks at the end of act II? They were such an integral part of the story and any poster depicting this scene shows two candlesticks, one on each side of Scarpia’s head!
It was a poor, poor decision to eliminate their use.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I invited several people who had never seen an opera before, and they thoroughly enjoyed it, as did I. The sets were great, the performance was supurb. I would be happy to attend another opera at the Phillips Center–saves me a trip to Orlando!
April 20th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
This presentation of “Tosca” can proudly be added to my list of viewed operas. It has a great collection of stage sets, and the singers were powerfully emotional; my only concern was my doubt on the authenticity of the costumes. Some of the costumes seemed to be more in tune with late 18th c., not the age of Napoleon at the beginning 19th.—–but maybe the styles of Roma were not yet as influenced as to Paris. On the whole, it was excellently performed!
April 20th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Little Gainesville did that?!!!! While living in Gainesville I’m having my cake and eating it, too!
April 21st, 2009 at 8:44 am
Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! A truly wonderful, stunningly beautiful evening - a triumph for the School of Music! More productions like this, please…
April 21st, 2009 at 9:13 am
Tosca was very well done. The group performed at a level that should be appreciated by all opera fans….
April 21st, 2009 at 11:10 am
It was a lifetime event to see the opera Tosca last Saturday night at the Performing Arts Center. The opera was excellent from the staging, sets, singers to the orchestra. I enjoyed the community aspect of the opera with the inclusion of local children, university students and staff. I hope this will be an annual event. Thank you
April 21st, 2009 at 11:18 am
Wonderful performance! A memorable evening. How about bringing more opera to Gainesville?
Jim Archer
April 21st, 2009 at 2:17 pm
What a great evening, and a wonderful opportunity for all the students in the presentation. The sets were amazing… and all this in Gainesville ! Thanks so much for making this available.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:46 pm
The sets, costuming, orchestra, and voices were absolutely wonderful… very professional!
April 21st, 2009 at 8:25 pm
We are fortunate to have had a local, full-scale production like this, with full orchestra, fine sets, and quality performers. It compares favorably to touring companies we have had in the past. I hope we will see more of the UF Opera Theatre.
April 21st, 2009 at 8:43 pm
I am so happy that after living in Gainesville for almost 40 years, we have a true cultural community. Opera is the bellweather of the arts, and the UF faculty deserve the standing ovation for their perserverance.
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:10 pm
The performance of Tosca was excellent and I enjoyed it very much. However, the screen providing the English translation was positioned much too high. To see it, I had to look up, making it impossible to view the stage action simultaneously. Please find another location before the next opera or other show with translation.
April 22nd, 2009 at 3:28 pm
For my first opera, Tosca was a lovely experience. The student rate is always appreciated, and I was very pleased with my seat.
The music and scenery were absolutely breathtaking; the performers did a superb performance.
My only complaint was that more of the words were not translated and that the translation was not more precise.
April 24th, 2009 at 3:16 am
My wife and I drove from Saint Augustine for the Saturday performance. It was extremely enjoyable, a very professional production. The sets would make the envy of many leading opera houses. The direction was superb, Mister Mata deserves a round of applause, his approach was honest, he did not try to impose far fetched ideas on the public, he was respectful of the music and the composer. The leading singers were good, I must single out Mister Offerle’s performance, he portrayed Scarpia superbly. His acting was very convincing and he was in fine voice. Madame Graham and Mister Austin presented the two lovers as they ought to be, they had a complete grasp of the characters, this was verismo at its best. The principals performed a Herculean task singing on one day’s rest, this a very demanding work. The orchestra was magnificent, perhaps from where I was seating, a little loud at times, which had a tendency to overpower the singers. This was due to perhaps to its youthful enthusiasm and exhuberance. Between the acts I had a chance to peer in the pit and was absolutely delighted to see these young men and women carrying the tradition of opera and classical music. The peripheral roles and the chorus were performed with elan and enthusiasm, the music was well served. I was happy to witness and see that opera lives, is well and alive in Gainesville. UF deseves, as the previous writer states, a standing ovation. It is a pity that there are only two performances, UF could take the show on the road, but logistics and academic schedule will not allow it. We will have to wait another two years for a production of this magnitude. I suggest that all the work, effort poured into Tosca did not end on the 18th of April, I believe that a concert version is a viable alternative in different venues.
April 25th, 2009 at 7:09 am
Having enjoyed a number of Tosca performances, most notably in Rome, we congratulate you on the excellence of this presentation … from the performers to the orchestra to the sets. Bravo!
April 26th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
We are thrilled to be seeing opera productions at UF involving the orchestra, the opera program, the theater folk (including performers, lighting, sets, etc.) and the local community. A wonderful team effort and excellently done. Hats off especially to Elizabeth and the two Tonys!