Opera al fresco Opera al fresco

Sì, sì, ‘Tosca’ is free in Tel Aviv this Thursday

Italian arias are in the air in Yarkon Park

By Jessica Steinberg
  • Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
 8 August 2017, 11:36 am
The performance of La Tosca at Masada barely utilized the mountain, only lighting it at a few points. The enormous stage swallowed performers when there were only two or three during most of the show. (courtesy Israel Opera/Yossi Zwecker)

If you’ve been waiting for a different kind of entertainment in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park, now may be your moment.

The Israeli Opera will present “Tosca,” Giacomo Puccini’s three-part opera telling a tragic story of treachery, lies, jealousy and love on Thursday at 8:30 p.m.

Gates will open at 7 p.m. for the free performance sponsored by The New Israeli Opera and the City of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. There will be a limited number of chairs available, as well as plenty of lawn space in Tel Aviv’s largest park, which has hosted such acts Guns and Roses, Britney Spears and Radiohead so far this summer.

“Tosca” was first performed in 1900, based on a drama written by 19th-century French playwright Victorien Sardou.

It’s been 16 years since The New Israeli Opera began performing operas for free during the summer, with the first one in Rabin Square. This performance will be accompanied by the Rishon Lezion Symphony Orchestra, with subtitles in Hebrew.

The performance will also be simultaneously broadcast on Israeli Educational Television.

read more: