World-renowned singers unite for Puccini's 'Tosca' in Seoul

The cast and the creative team of "Tosca" pose for photos at a press conference at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on Friday. (Park Ga-young/The Korea Herald)

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Giacomo Puccini’s death, the Seoul Metropolitan Opera and Bucheon Philharmonic are presenting his most dramatic work, “Tosca.”

The opera singers featured in this production, which will be performed four times from Thursday to Sept. 8, bring with them not only decades of experience, but also personal connections and unique stories with Puccini’s “Tosca."

Renowned soprano Angela Gheorghiu, who has portrayed the role of Floria Tosca numerous times, including at the Metropolitan Opera in 2023 and the Royal Opera House, will perform twice in this production, on Sept. 5 and Sept. 8.

The role will be shared with Rim Sae-kyung, who will take the stage on Sept. 6 and Sept. 7. Rim has a special connection to "Tosca," recalling it as the first production she embraced after eight cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kim Young-woo, who is taking on the role of Cavaradossi, ​​a painter and Tosca’s lover, is scheduled to appear in the role 50 times this year alone, having already performed it more than 30 times. “I feel grateful to debut in Korea with 'Tosca,' a great opera,” Kim said at a press conference on Friday.

Baritone Yang Jun-mo debuted as Baron Scarpia when he was in his late 20s at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. "Entering my 50s, I’m once again starting with ‘Tosca,’” Yang said at the press event.

Pyo Hyun-jin, the director of the production, said, “The casting couldn’t be any better. The two teams offer very different colors. They have more experiences with ‘Tosca’ than me and a lot of great ideas.”

Alongside Gheorghiu, tenor Alfredo Kim will appear as Cavaradossi while Samuel Youn portrays Baron Scarpia, the chief of police and antagonist.

Rim will team up with Kim Young-woo and Yang.

The director said she wanted to highlight Scarpia, the devil born of war, noting, "I hope it becomes a work that reflects the cruelty of war and the terrible tragedies that occur during war, which is all relevant to us now."

By Park Ga-young(gypark@heraldcorp.com)