17/05/2012
It’s 20 minutes of high drama but it’s not First Minister’s Questions.
Scottish Opera is bringing A Little Bit of Tosca – its pocket-sized version of Tosca – to the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, May 17. Puccini’s famous opera of love, betrayal and murder is presented in a 20-minute show, which is touring to over 40 venues across the nation.
Visitors to the Parliament today will see the story brought to life by a storyteller and a set of colourful illustrations, accompanied by a soprano, cellist and harpist providing a selection of music from the opera.
Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer, Tricia Marwick MSP said:
“The Scottish Parliament is no stranger to drama, but perhaps it is not always as melodic as Scottish Opera’s performance.
“As a supporter of the arts, and active participant in Scottish culture, the Parliament is delighted to welcome the ‘toatie Tosca’ into the Main Hall. Scotland should be proud of its acclaimed opera company and I welcome this novel approach to introducing people to opera.
“I am pleased that the Scottish Parliament will become an opera venue, if only for a short time and I am sure that it will enhance the enjoyment of all our visitors who experience it.”
The A Little Bit of … Tosca performance will take place in Parliament’s Main Hall on Thursday, May 17 at 1.30pm. The Main Hall will be open to visitors as normal and the performance is free.
Background
Scottish Opera’s A Little Bit of… shows take opera out of the theatre into unexpected places, and are ideal for anyone new to opera. The shows are dramatized through the Japanese ancient art of ‘Kamishibai’ – the production uses a metre-wide black theatre box holding ten to twelve illustrations to tell the story.
Puccini’s full-length opera Tosca features a jealous diva, a corrupt chief of police and a political prisoner on the run. It’s a dramatic and heart-gripping thriller, with a hint of James Bond-style villains with a taste for perverse acts of torture, and a dash of Casablanca’s intense love triangle, set in the midst of WW2.