Tom's Life Bits

Tom's Take: We went to this in Cary on a Sunday afternoon at 3PM. Before the performance I won two tickets to Long Leaf Opera Festival next month by answering a trivia question about the name of the third of the Il Trittico operas after Gianni Schicchi and Suor Angelica. The answer was Il Tabarro.
The first opera, Il Tabarro, was very dark. The barge occupied the stage, the singing was great but the sound seemed distant. The second, Suor Angelica, was just plain weird. Why in the world there was a madonna laying on stage that the singers climbed up and down was beyond me. The third, Gianni Schicchi, seemed to be the barge but draped in red. Leo Nucci was outstanding with his colorful acting and excellent singing. It was my favorite of the three. What a great afternoon of opera. We left the theater in a pouring rain. Stopped for dinner at La Cocina, our mexican restaurant near Krogers.

• Juan Pons (Michel)
  
• Miro Dvorski (Luigi)
  
• Paoletta Marrocu (Giorgetta)
  
• Anna Maria Popescu (Frugola)
  
• Barbara Frittoli (Suor Angelica)
  
• Mariana Lipovsek (Zia Principessa)
  
• Leo Nucci (Gianni Schicchi)
  
• Nino Machaidze (Lauretta)
  
• Cinzia De Mola (Zita)
  
• Stefano Secco (Rinuccio)
  
• Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
  

In honor of Puccini’s 150th birthday, La Scala brings his incomparable Il Trittico to the stage. Luca Ronconi is the talented director able to unite and at the same time give a different character to Il tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi.

• Design Margherita Palli
  
• Costumes Silvia Aymonino
  

—- From Opera-L
As it is only 5 minutes from my house I could not misss Il Trittico presented at the movies.

I enjoyed it a lot albeit I did not like the production that much. The three operas shared a background set which had an irregular shape, there in Il Tabarro the lovers, the organ player went for a stroll; in Suor Angelica there was the Virgin statue and in Gianni Schicchi there were some projections of Florence and drawings suggesting Inferno by Dante, it was also where Schicchi first appeared, all in red, suggesting The Devil (or a Dante alter-ego?). Surprisingly this part of the set had marvelous acoustic, it sounded as if when the singer stood there the sound bloomed. Il Tabarro had the boat horizontal on the stage, no suggestion of the river since the characters could enter the boat from both sides. Suor Angelica had a huge virgin statue lying down on the stage (horizontal again). And Gianni Schicchi had an all red stage with huge drapes and a bed to the left side, the bed stood up (and poor Buoso fell into a hole) which was kind of interesting. The sets did not look that great I'm afraid. The singers' direction was inconsistent, some were very good, others too “operatic” and glued to the conductor, which suggests they were not directed that much, left to their own devices.

Il Tabarro had Juan Pons (again as in the MET) as Michelle, Pons was very good again (in spite of a moment of insecurity in the aria), he really knows this role. Incidentally Chailly used the other aria “Scorri il fiume” (or something like that), it is more less the same music as “Nulla silenzio” but the lyrics are different. I prefer the latter. Paoletta Marrocu was Giorgietta. She was ok but too shrill for my taste. Antonello Palombi was a good Luigi, really impressive in the first phrases but challenged when needing to hit the higher notes which require a lot of stamina which he did not possess. As always with him, he pays close attention to the text and although a bit stiff as an actor, delivered the text superbly. Chiuri was a good Frugola, the rest of the cast supported decently.

Suor Angelica was the best in my view. I could not hold my tears throughout (as always), even if the scenery was not that great, all the singers were highly comitted. Frittoli was again a superb Angelica (in spite of not getting the end note in “Senza mamma”), really high charged when singing at the end. Incidentally she sang a different mini-aria which was new to me, the music sounds very modern to its time (she sings it after “Senza mamma”). Marjana Lipovsek was an ice cold, relentless Principessa. Her voice is not what it was but she is still a compelling artist. The other roles were well done, with special mention to Francesca Sassu as Suor Genoveffa and Cinzia De Mola as La badessa.

Gianni Schicchi was in the hands of Leo Nucci. Like Placido Domingo, Nucci is a marvel, over 60 his voice is as fresh as ever (if you can listen to his cries of “Vittoria! Vittoria!” when Schicchi successfully impersonates Buoso). His Schicchi powerfully delivered is rich in nuances too (very Italianate). Cinzia de Mola was sensational as Zita. Vittorio Grigolo was a good Rinnuccio. I thought Nino Machaidze lacking in pianissimos, her voice is a tad heavy for the role, and on a side note she is gorgeous (reminds me of Angelina Jolie). It was a pleasure to hear again Luigi Roni (whom I thought long retired) as Simone.

Riccardo Chailly presided over the three operas and did a great job, so did the marvelous orchestra. What this presentation had was a lot of real Italianate singing. In spite of not enjoying the production that much, I enjoyed it a lot (maybe because I love the music).

Image and sound was great, there were a couple of glitches but nothing major.

Highly recommended.

My second trip to Morristown, New Jersey for La Scala at the movies (you can read about the non-functioning projector for Maria Stuarda in the archives) was better than the last one, but there were many problems.

The La Scala production was a new one by Luca Ronconi, and several of the principals were in the Met's Trittico last season, notably Juan Pons' Michele and Barbara Fittoli's Angelica. I apologize for not having a complete cast list, but the website for Emerging Pictures is limited, and you got only one chance through the cast before each opera, and I didn't see the listing in the theatre for Schicchi (the intermission was less than 6 minutes). The Ronconi Tabarro was very standard with the barge filling the stage, and I thought marginally better in conception than the Met's “uber Zeffirelli” effort– the simpler the better for Tabarro in my view. The Met staging of Luigi's murder was much more exciting. Paoletta Marrocu is best known for her Lady Macbeth in the ZUrich Hampson production. She was OK vocally if in no way memorable, but her acting was extremely external and if not so zaftig as Guleghina, neither was a patch on Scotto in the Met's first telecast 20+ years ago. Contrary to the website, Luigi was sung by Antonello Palombi, not Miro Dvorski. This guy's a brute, and though the vocalism was OK; Licitra was much better last year at the Met, and Moldoveanu better still with Scotto. Pons is on Freni's recording of Trittico, the Met gala with Domingo, last year's Met production, and now here with La Scala. It is not such a remarkable performance that it should be encountered everywhere, but I am not pitching for a Carlo Guelfi effort either. Michele was one of Cornell MacNeil's best efforts, and while I have copy of the Met telecast, this telecast should be issued by the Met (there is one minor technical glitch in the Tabarro with I think 40 seconds or so lost from the actual house transmission, but it is by far the best of the mainline Tritticos (the older Scala one with Gavazzeni, last year's Met, or this year's Scala). A hand for the splendid work of all 3 principals on the Tebaldi Tabarro (Merrill never did the part on stage, but talk about powerful vocalism).

Suor Angelica was a hideous production with a giant Madonna, the size of the barge in Tabarro on its side and draped so that the nuns were constantly traversing the statue. It most reminded me of the Jurgen Rose MEt Elektra with the huge equestrian statue on its side in the courtyard, but performers arent asked to climb all over it. Frittoli is a moving Angelica, and some sections of this difficult part were a bit better on the La Scal transmission, but I felt the production worked against her, and am glad her first outing in the part was at the Met and videod for posterity. The Met moved the chronology for Angelica forward to fascist Italy, but kept the setting very close to traditional for the convent. I felt Stephanie BLythe at the Met last year was not old enough or elegant enough for the part, though she sang it very well. Let me temper those complaints now that I have seen Marianna Lipovsek's Zia Principessa. She was sternness and implacability to the max, but she was also frightening to look at, the make up not subtle enough for high definition, and the vocalism hooty and old (not wobbly, but not pleasant). Lipovsek was a great Klytemnestra when I saw Marton in London in 1990, and she did the Ring mezzo roles to a fare thee well in CHicago in 1994 or 1996 (Eaglen's first complete Ring when she could still make an effect), but this was not a way to remember her. I really liked Fabrizio Melano's simple and effective work with Scotto and company in the first Met Angelica, and Frittoli most moving last year.

Gianni Schicchi featured Leo Nucci as Schicchi (he too is on Freni's recording). I can't say who were the Rinuccio (the website says Stephano Secco, but i looked at HIS website, and he was not on the screen) or the Lauretta who is listed as Nino Machaidze. The setting was a giant bed with red flocked floor and sheets that was nothing on the Met's splendid design (I don't like the final use of the lift to show a very fakey Florence, but the action centering on the Buoso and the relatives scheming is delightfully done, and brings out Jack O'Brien's skill at creating an ensemble). Some of Nucci's late work (Met Nabucco and Vespri) have been very good, but he seemed very glued to the conductor, and nowhere near the charm of a Bacquier or Corbelli (the two Met interpreters on video)

Ricardo Chailly was a solid conductor, but not on the level of his Aida (the Urmana, Alagna Zeffirelli effort) which was at the movies a few months ago. Levine was better, but some of this may relate to how much better the orchestra was captured by Met mikes.

Technical issues. During Schicchi we had about a 6 minute sound outage near the end when Schicchi throws the relatives out of his newly inherited house. I am assuming this was a local failing. The screen using DLP technology seemed a good bit brighter than the Met, but it also seemed totally fake, and except for acough during the miracle section of Angelica, you wouldnt know an audience was there. No audience laughter during Schicchi? The sound was acceptable but no more, and no richness for the orchestra. Even the Met's digital mikes don't catch the bloom of a voice like you hear when you are in the opera house, but they're a lot better than this. Compared to the Aida, the video direction was a great improvement, but a cutaway to the orchestra during the interlude before Angelica poisons herself totally broke the mood. If the Met is too abrupt with curtain calls, La Scala gives EVERYONE even a second round. When I saw the Aida, they had the dancer Roberto Bolle going on and off repeatedly. The Trittico treated all the bit players as if they were Roberto Bolle. Lots of “atmospheric” shots of the orchestra before each opera, but I felt no energy from the performance at all.

The Emerging PIctures website lists a 2008-2009 season, but there's nothing there when you click. Poor marketing, some very bad choices in terms of how the performances are put together weaken a potentially competitive effort to the Met. I saw the La Scala Tristan on my home DVD thanks to a European colleague, and of course I missed the Maria Stuarda. In the end, the Aida and the Trittico were duds. The San Francisco movies are not readily accessible for me. It takes more than technology to make the whole thing work.