Angels Vocal Art Opera Festival Kicks Off It's Summer Season With A Gala Performance Of Puccini's TOSCA

Angels Vocal Art (AVA) will present Puccini's classic, TOSCA in a Gala Performance at the Manoukian Performing Arts Center in Pasadena. Reception to follow.

AVA Artistic Director Kristof Van Grysperre conducts a full orchestra on stage, with staging by director Diana Wyenn and projections by Aaron Ball.

TOSCA is a three act opera that combines political intrigue with love, jealousy, and murder. This tragedy follows the story of Floria Tosca, a jealousy-ridden opera singer, Mario Cavaradossi, her artistic lover, and Baron Scarpia, the corrupt Chief of Police. In the midst of political unrest, Tosca fights to save Cavaradossi from Scarpia, and she faces a dilemma - give herself to Scarpia or let her lover be killed.

The principal cast of TOSCA will include Met Opera artists Jessica Sandidge as Floria Tosca and Todd Wilander as Mario Cavaradossi, and stage veteran Roberto Perlas Gomez as Baron Scarpia. Sejin Park is cast as Sacristan, Jacob Bowman as Angelotti, and Jeff Wang as Spoletta.

Tickets range from $59 to $149 and can be purchased online at https://angelsvocalart.org/ and a $30 student discount is available.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Kristof Van Grysperre, Angels Vocal Art gives up-and-coming opera talent the opportunity to perform alongside seasoned professionals. "Angels Vocal Art is committed to nurturing emerging young talent and giving them the opportunity to perform in fully staged opera productions with a professional orchestra. We strive to promote the art form among the general public, and to broaden the definition of opera by staging modern productions of the finest quality," says Van Grysperre.

In their 2019 Summer Festival, AVA produced with wide acclaim the three one-act operas comprising Giacomo Puccini's Il Trittico. In the following fall season, AVA had a successful and prestigious concert at New York City's Carnegie Hall.

Other fully-staged productions with professional orchestras included Bernstein's Candide, Adam Gorb's ANYA17, Verdi's La Traviata and several editions of Opera Potpourri. During the Pandemic, AVA produced Poulenc's La Voix Humaine at their new state-of-the-art recording and film studio.

Although the organization is fully operational throughout the calendar year, it is noteworthy that AVA's unique Summer Opera Festival acts as the only active performance series in the LA County region during this time frame which is solely devoted to operatic performances.

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