Warner Theatre to Screen Puccini's TOSCA: LIVE IN ROME to Benefit Opera Programming

The Warner Theatre will show Puccini's TOSCA: Live in Rome starring Placido Domingo and Catherine Malfitano in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre on Saturday, April 1 at 1:00 pm as a fundraiser to benefit opera programming at the Warner.

Tickets are $25. A complimentary lecture by Nunzio DeFilippis will be offered to all ticket holders at 11:00 am. A one-hour post-opera dessert and wine reception will be offered in the Studio Lobby for $15.

This "live" version of Puccini's superbly dramatic opera was recorded in Rome in the exact locations and at the precise times of day as Puccini had written into his score. The action opens in Rome's beautiful 16th-century church of Sant'Andrea della Valle, where Cavaradossi (Placido Domingo) is innocently painting, and moves to the Farnese Palace where Tosca (Catherine Malfitano) dramatically stabs the lustful Scarpia (Ruggero Raimondi), and finally to the battlements of the Castle Sant'Angelo at dawn the following day where Cavaradossi is cruelly killed, and Tosca takes her own life. It is conducted by Zubin Mehta.

To purchase opera tickets and post-opera reception tickets, call the Warner Box Office at 860-489-7180 or visit warnertheatre.org.

Built by Warner Brothers Studios and opened in 1931 as a movie palace (1,772 seats), the Warner Theatre was described then as "Connecticut's Most Beautiful Theatre." Damaged extensively in a flood, the Warner was slated for demolition in the early 1980s until the non-profit Northwest Connecticut Association for the Arts (NCAA) was founded and purchased the theatre. The Warner reopened as a performing arts center in 1983, and restoration of the main lobbies and auditorium was completed in November 2002. In 2008, the new 50,000 square foot Carole and Ray Neag Performing Arts Center, which houses a 300 seat Studio Theatre, 200 seat restaurant and expansive school for the arts, was completed. Today, the Warner is in operation year-round with more than 160 performances and 100,000 patrons passing through its doors each season. Over 10,000 students, pre K-adult, participate in arts education programs and classes. Together, with the support of the community, the Warner has raised close to $17 million to revitalize its facilities. NCAA's mission is to preserve the Warner Theatre as an historic landmark, enhance its reputation as a center of artistic excellence and a focal point of community involvement, and satisfy the diverse cultural needs of the region. To learn more about the Warner Theatre, visit www.warnertheatre.org.

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