Puccini's TOSCA big screen in the park

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Hello, my name is Kath Gorman and I’m the Interim Festival Director for Cork Midsummer Festival. Our festival launches next month on 11 June and I’m asking you to help fund a large-scale prestigious free event we have planned.

We have been invited by Viva Europa 2011 to host a live screening of Puccini’s Tosca, which is being performed from the stage of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, in Valencia, Spain. Viva Europa is a highly visible cultural initiative aiming to promote the European feeling of community through a relevant cultural form rooted in European tradition, opera, to be enjoyed live across Europe. We are one of up to 60 cities across Europe taking part. The screening will take place on Monday 13 June at 7pm (GMT), on a big screen in the lovely surroundings of Fitzgerald’s Park in Cork city. It will be a chance for hundreds of people to sit and enjoy the screening, on a summer’s evening, perhaps to bring a picnic and enjoy a world-class opera.

One of Puccini’s best-known operas, Tosca is a tale of love, lust, deceit and murder. Set in 19th century Rome. Mario Cavaradossi, is in love with the singer Floria Tosca. But Baron Scarpia, ruthless chief of secret police also desires Tosca, a woman of character famous for her voice and her terrible jealousy…The production stars major international opera stars including Ukrainian soprano Oksana Dyka, Spanish tenor Jorge de Leon and Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer Bryn Terfel.

The broadcast is free of charge for the audience as it’s a festive event that as many people as possible can enjoy. As you can imagine this is an expensive event to run. It will cost us in the region of €10,000 for the screen hire, PA, fencing, stewards, technical crew, lighting and toilets. We have €5000 generously pledged from Cork City Council and we are in discussions with a sponsor at the moment to secure €3000. However, we need €2000 to make up the shortfall. We need your generous support so we can bring one of the most famous operas of all time to the masses, to both opera lovers and first timers.