English National Opera (ENO) will be performing a semi-staged production of Puccini’s Tosca (1900) at an open-air concert in Crystal Palace Park, as part of a brand new music festival.

South Facing Festival is an outdoor concert series taking place from 5-29 August. Other headline shows include such diverse artists as Dizzee Rascal, Supergrass and the Max Richter Ensemble. There will also be a range of free entertainment on offer.

Tosca is a rollercoaster ride of love, lust, murder and political intrigue. With its dramatic story and Puccini’s richly romantic score, it is one of the world’s best-loved operas. This semi-staged production sees Richard Farnes conducting the ENO Orchestra and Chorus.

The cast features award-winning Welsh soprano Natalya Romaniw as Tosca, tenor and Jette Parker Young Artist programme alumnus David Junghoon Kim as Cavaradossi and baritone Roland Wood as Scarpia.

The festival takes place at the iconic Crystal Palace Bowl, an outdoor music venue in south London’s Crystal Palace Park. The bowl is positioned in a natural amphitheatre capable of holding up to 15,000 people, with the stage facing an ornamental lake.

Crystal Palace has a musical history stretching back more than 150 years, with the park’s first-ever festival – celebrating the works of Handel – held back in 1857. The bowl hosted a series of musical events from the 1960s up to 2007, with some of the most popular musical acts in the world gracing the stage, including Bob Marley, Elton John and Pink Floyd.

South Facing will be the first music event to be held at the venue for 14 years. Performances will take place on a unique stage ‘floating’ on the lake, while the large grass area in front of the stage will form the open-air picnic-style seating area, with plenty of space for groups to socially distance should such requirements still be in place. Large screens will also relay the performance and microphones will be used for high-quality sound.

ENO will be putting on two evening performances of Tosca, on 27 August with doors opening at 6.30pm, and 29 August, opening at 5.30pm. Tickets start from £35. There will be a range of street food vendors as well as bars selling alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks so concert-goers are asked not to bring their own food and drink. However, ENO has encouraged audiences “to bring a blanket and cushions to make yourself comfortable”.

For further details and to book tickets go to the South Facing Festival website.

 

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English National Opera will bring a semi-staged version of Puccini’s Tosca to south London’s South Facing Festival this summer.