Longtime Sarasota Opera favorite, baritone Todd Thomas, will return to Sarasota Opera on March 25 to assume the role of Baron Scarpia for the final two performances (March 25 and 27) in this season’s production of Puccini’s Tosca. Mark Walters, who has won critical acclaim this season for his performance in the role, will have his last performance on Sunday, March 22. “Mark Walter has given a fabulous performance this season,” says Richard Russell, Sarasota Opera’s Executive Director. “In planning this season we found that he couldn’t sing the last two performances due to a previous commitment, so we were delighted that Todd Thomas was available to finish the run. He is a longtime favorite of the audience and ours, and Scarpia is one of his signature roles. Mr. Thomas made his debut with Sarasota Opera in the 1993 production of Puccini’s La fanciulla del West and has since returned to perform leading roles in 6 subsequent productions. He last performed the role of Scarpia with Sarasota Opera in 2004. Other appearances include leading roles with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, and New York City Opera. Mr. Thomas’ first performance on March 25 will coincide with another special occasion. Soprano Kara Shay Thomson, who has returned to the title role ofTosca this season, will mark her 100^th performance of the role on Wednesday, March 25^th. Ms. Thomson debuted the role of Floria Tosca at Sarasota Opera in 2009 and has since gone onto singe the role at companies around the United States including Atlanta Opera, Portland Opera, and Utah Opera.

Sarasota Opera