Contemporary concerns inspire new perspective on Puccini classic ‘Tosca’ – from The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

HOT was featured in The Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Play section!  Read the full article by Steven Mark online.  Scroll down for excerpts!

“Now, this piece seems alarmingly relevant,” said guest director Omer Ben Seadia, who is making her debut with HOT. “We, and our audiences, are watching and listening to it a lot a differently. Even though I’ve done it and I know it so well, I’ve had to sort of put into question a lot of things, because my perspective is different and it resonates differently with me.

It feels like we’ve filled every moment with honesty and integrity,” she (Rochelle Bard) said. “Everything feels exactly how I think we’re supposed to make you feel.”

“The best operas for a singer are the ones they get to die in,” he (Boyer) said with a laugh. “Those are always the most fun. The only thing better is killing someone else.”

“You feel there’s not one note too many,” Plasson said. “Everything is really well-designed — the length of the scenes, the potency of the scenes, and of course the orchestration is gorgeous.”