San Francisco Opera Presents Puccini's TOSCA, October 23-November 8

San Francisco Opera presents Puccini's Tosca in five performances October 23-November 8. Italian maestro Riccardo Frizza conducts Puccini's masterful melodrama in which a great singer, a rebellious painter and a corrupt police chief engage in a deadly test of wills. Armenian soprano Lianna Haroutounian makes her San Francisco Opera debut in the title role, and tenor Brian Jagde and bass-baritone Mark Delavan return as Mario Cavaradossi and Baron Scarpia, reprising roles they sang together in San Francisco Opera's 2012 production. The Company's elegant and classic production, designed by Thierry Bosquet, is directed by Jose Maria Condemi.

One of the most celebrated sopranos of her generation, Lianna Haroutounian makes her San Francisco Opera debut singing the role of Floria Tosca for the first time. Haroutounian is in high demand throughout Europe for her portrayals of many of Verdi and Puccini's heroines, including Desdemona (Otello), Mimì (La Bohème), Amelia (Un Ballo in Maschera), Elisabetta (Don Carlos) and Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly). Upcoming engagements include her Metropolitan Opera debut as Elisabetta, Leonora in Il Trovatore in Naples, and Mimì at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. Classique News reported: "Her tone is sumptuous, one of those rich and strong Slavic voices with a superlative proficiency. A voice perfectly placed, effortlessly striking and echoing high notes and powerful low notes."

American tenor Brian Jagde returns to San Francisco Opera as Mario Cavaradossi, a role he performed previously with the Company in 2012 as well as at Deutsche Oper Berlin and Santa Fe Opera. The tenor's most recent San Francisco Opera appearance as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly was praised for its "velvet lyricism" and "strapping vocal authority" (San Jose Mercury News). Recent career highlights include Count Elemer (Arabella) with the Metropolitan Opera and Don José (Carmen) in Limoges. Jagde's engagements this season include Pinkerton at Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Don José with Portland Opera; and a recital at the Mondavi Center in Davis, California.

Mark Delavan, well-known to Bay Area audiences for his acclaimed portrayal of Wotan and the Wanderer in the Company's 2011 Ring cycle, reprises the role of Baron Scarpia alongside his 2012 cast mate Brian Jagde. The American baritone has appeared at San Francisco Opera in more than seventeen previous productions, including Marquis d'Obigny in La Traviata, Moralès in Carmen, and The High Priest of Brahma in L'Africaine. He has performed the role of Scarpia at Deutsche Oper Berlin; Royal Opera, Covent Garden; the Metropolitan Opera; Cincinnati Opera; Pittsburgh Opera and the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, among others. Delavan's recent engagements include Wotan and the Wanderer in the Ring cycle at the Metropolitan Opera and at Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Italian conductor Riccardo Frizza made his San Francisco Opera debut with 2011's Lucrezia Borgia and returned in 2012 for I Capuleti e i Montecchi. In demand throughout Europe and at the Metropolitan Opera, Frizza's recent engagements include leading operas in Paris, Zurich, Milan, Vienna, Munich and New York City.

This production, which was first conceived by Lotfi Mansouri in 1997, is a re-creation of Armando Agnini's Tosca production that opened the War Memorial Opera House in 1932. This marks the third time Jose Maria Condemi has directed the work at San Francisco Opera, following presentations in 2008 and 2012.

Sung in Italian with English supertitles, the five performances of Tosca are scheduled for October 23 (7:30 p.m.), October 26 (2 p.m.), November 1 (7:30 p.m.), November 4 (7:30 p.m.) and November 8 (7:30 p.m.), 2014.

Tickets for performances of Puccini's Tosca at the War Memorial Opera House are priced from $25 to $370 and may be purchased at sfopera.com or through the San Francisco Opera Box Office [301 Van Ness Avenue (at Grove Street), or by phone at (415) 864-3330]. Standing Room tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on the day of each performance; tickets are $10 each, cash only.

The War Memorial Opera House is located at 301 Van Ness Avenue at Grove Street. Patrons are encouraged to use public transportation to attend San Francisco Opera performances. The War Memorial Opera House is within walking distance of the Civic Center BART station and near numerous bus lines, including 5, 21, 47, 49 and the F Market Street. For more public transportation information, visit bart.gov and sfmuni.com.

Casting, programs, schedules and ticket prices are subject to change. For further information about Tosca and San Francisco Opera's 2014-15 season, please visit sfopera.com.