OPERA | 'Tosca' 

A melodrama with plenty of melodies and plenty of drama — that's Giacomo Puccini's "Tosca," which has been packing audiences in since 1900. Puccini's operatic adaptation of a once-famous play by Victorien Sardou is full of romance, politics, and mayhem. The role of Floria Tosca has been the tempestuous diva vehicle of choice for star sopranos: Renata Tebaldi, Maria Callas, Leontyne Price, and many more. If the singers and conductor can turn up the heat far enough, "Tosca" is still one of the rip-roaring shows of the operatic repertoire. Finger Lakes Opera will present "Tosca" this weekend at its new home, the Canandaigua Academy Theater. Metropolitan Opera soprano Jennifer Rowley will take on Tosca; Armenian tenor Yeghishe Manucharyan is Tosca's lover, Cavaradossi; and baritone Corey Crider plays the nastiest guy in opera, the Baron Scarpia. Finger Lakes Opera Music Director Gerard Floriano conducts.

Finger Lakes Opera will present Puccini's "Tosca" on Friday, August 11, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, August 13, at 2 p.m. Canandaigua Academy Theater, 435 East Street, Canandaigua. $25-$75. 532-2711; fingerlakesopera.org