GTMF to screen Met’s hi-def ‘Tosca’ – JH News&Guide

The world of opera is chock full of jealous lovers, brave idealists, corrupt and lustful authorities, and of course, bloody murders and heartrending suicides.

But “Tosca” (1900), Giacomo Puccini’s heady brew of romance and politics, surely deserves a prize for bringing together all of the archetypal characters and tragic tropes into one work.

The Grand Teton Music Festival brings the Metropolitan Opera’s “Live in HD” production of one of the most popular melodramas in the canon, to the big screen at the Center Theater at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Puccini wrote “Tosca” at the turn of the 19th century, when Italy was in the midst of a period of unrest involving the church, anti-religious factions and anarchists. His opera is set in a similar time of turmoil, June 1800, shortly after the Kingdom of Naples had ejected Napoleon’s forces from Rome and was rousting French loyalists and collaborators. The character, Angelotti, was probably based on one such official.

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