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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.
Cast:
- 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.
Production Team:
- Design Margherita Palli
- Costumes Silvia Aymonino
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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.