Tosca Giacomo Puccini November 2, 7:30 pm & November 4, 2:30 pm 2001 Eugene Opera proudly presents Puccini’s powerful masterpiece, Tosca. Passion and deceit dominate as our beautiful heroine, Tosca, tries to save her lover from the hands of opera’s foulest villian, Scarpia, only to meet tragic fate herself. Political intrigue, corrupt desire and breathtaking music will keep you on the edge of your seat and remind you that this is why you love opera. La traviata Giuseppe Verdi December 31, 7:30 pm, January 4, 7:30 pm & January 6, 2:30 pm 2002 Heart-breaking and achingly beautiful, Verdi’s beloved La traviata tells the sweeping tale of lost love and everlasting devotion in 19th century Parisian society. The beautiful Violetta, a consumptive courtesan, finds the promise of true happiness with her ardent admirer, Alfredo. To protect Alfredo from the scandal of their affair, Violetta leaves him, to be reunited only as she lies dying. Susannah Carlisle Floyd March 8, 7:30 pm & March 10, 2:30 pm 2002 The first in a series of American operas by Eugene Opera, Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah is thoroughly Southern - hot and sultry - full of seduction and repentence. Brimming with religious fervor and frustration, the townspeople of New Hope, Tennessee can’t help but condemn the exquisite and free-spirited Susannah. Beautiful revival hymns and Appalachian melodies set to intensely dramatic poetry tell an extraordinary tale of bigotry, innocence and human weakness, making this a decisively American opera.