Since COVID-19 upended our lives, it’s been difficult to find ways to entertain ourselves while staying socially distanced and safe. One idea? Drive-in theaters. This old-school pastime is having a major resurgence and we’re not mad about it. Especially when you can go and see something spectacular like Puccini’s Tosca.
On Saturday, August 29, in Kingston, New York, the grand opera will be performed live on stage and simulcast to you on giant Jumbotron screens as you sit back and relax in the comfort of your car.
The never-before-seen Phoenicia Festival of the Voice event will take place on the west campus of Kingston’s Tech City and will accommodate up to 600 cars. Audience members can arrive from 5 p.m. (picnicking and tailgating is encouraged—while following necessary safety measures, of course). Then at 8 p.m., the performance will begin and attendees will be able to listen to the music through their open windows or via the car’s FM radio, as they watch the live action both onstage and on four 20-foot-by-20-foot Jumbotron screens.
“One of the classics of the opera repertory, Tosca boasts some of the most passionate music ever composed,” say organizers. “From its famously dramatic opening chords, this opera has it all: love, lust, politics, deception, sacrifice, and sheer evil.” Sounds better than scrolling through Netflix all night long, no?
