SUNSET PARK — Regina Opera recently presented several meticulously polished, fully-staged performances of Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca,” a tragic story of passion and jealousy set in Rome in 1800, revolving around opera singer Floria Tosca’s fight to save her lover, Cavaradossi, from Scarpia, a sadistic police chief.

Sung in Italian and accompanied by a 35-piece orchestra and English supertitles, the performances took place at the end of November and were conducted by Scott Jackson Wiley with stage direction by Sabrina Palladino at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School located at 5902 Sixth Avenue. Among the featured singers were Audrey DuBois Harris as Tosca and Eliam Ramos as Scarpia. 

Fran Garber-Cohen,  president of Regina Opera, and the show’s producer, told the Brooklyn Eagle that the most unique aspect of her version of Tosca is that “even though this is an extremely popular opera, we have several people in this show — although experienced — that haven’t done this role before, which makes the performances extremely fresh.”  

Garber-Cohen added that working with a full orchestra also significantly adds to the excitement and drama of the presentation. 

“We’ve had an orchestra of over 30 pieces since 1983,” Garber-Cohen said. “And it really helps to bring things to the next level.” 

Regina Opera’s mission is to encourage music lovers on a limited budget to attend high-quality operas and concerts by offering ticket prices much lower than those of New York City’s major opera houses and to introduce young audiences to opera so that they can become the audience of the future, Garber-Cohen explained.  

“Right now, things are tough financially for a lot of Brooklynites, and some are skipping going to live performances because they don’t have the money,” Garber-Cohen said. “But we provide an alternative, as we are still the least expensive fully staged opera in New York City.” 

According to Garber-Cohen, opera is not just about a great voice that will carry over a large orchestra in a theater. It’s also acting, she noted. “You have to be multifaceted as a performer, which makes things very challenging from a selection standpoint. We want characters that are believable in their character.”

She continued, “For Tosca, there is a lot of intimate interaction — sensual interaction — as you are dealing with a pair of lovers. But I am very satisfied with our team, and with the way things have turned out overall.” 

The Regina Opera Company was founded in 1970 by Marie Cantoni and Nicholas Tierno. It began as a small group of dedicated singers who gave opera recitals, with piano accompaniment, in a tiny auditorium at the Regina Pacis-St. Rosalia Parish Youth Center in Borough Park/Dyker Heights. The company is now located in Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy of Brooklyn. Regina Opera’s programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

For additional information, tickets and upcoming showings, visit the website. 

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