Il Trittico, quarantined
To honor Maryland Lyric Opera, who had to make the hard decision to postpone their production of Il Tabarro and Gianni Schicchi, two of the three operas (Suor Angelica is the third) from what is known as Il Trittico, Quarantine Opera will explore the complex one act operas by Giacomo Puccini. This is not done often enough, so it’s worth exploring online. Get ready for all of the flavors in one - this runs the gamut from slapstick to brutal murder.
Want to join our Opera “book club” Wednesdays at 5pm CST? You choose which operas appeal. We provide a delicious cocktail idea and an opera to chat about. We all get to talk to someone who doesn’t live in our house. Want to be the keener? Check out the post below for the opera we’re discussing for some background!
We will forward the link to you on Wednesdays mornings when you sign up here: Quarantine Opera Book Club. Next up: IL TRITTICO on May 27.
Been There - Done That - Get the T-Shirt! Quarantine Opera Shirt
Bookclub Video Links:
Il Tabarro: Duet, Theresa Stratas and Placido Domingo at the Met (1994), click here. Here is a link to this full production.
Suor Angelica: Aria, Senza Mamma sung by Renata Scotto, click here.
Need to Know
Puccini’s Il Trittico consists of three one-act opera bound together by recurrent themes and images, the operas include Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi. Major themes that tie the operas together include death, revenge, and inter-family conflict. Each opera uses imagery of water, money, growth, death, and social conflict.
The operas premiered at the New York Metropolitan Opera on December 14, 1918 and are Puccini’s last completed operas. (Turandot (1926) Puccini’s last opera, was completed by Franco Alfano posthumously).
Puccini is most known for his opera La Boheme, one of the most beloved in the whole repertoire. BUT one of opera’s greatest hits comes from Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro is by far one of the most requested and beloved songs in all of opera. Hear some of our favorite divas back to back, let us know who sang it best!
Opera goes to the Movies!
Opera has a long history of stealing the show, whether it’s La Traviata in Pretty Woman or the Letter Duet (Le nozze di Figaro) in Shawshank Redemption. Gianni Schicchi aided our Hollywood friends with both comical and dramatic flare. Hear O mio babbino cara lipped sung to the incredible Rowan Atkinson, in Mr. Bean’s Holiday compared to it the trailer in A Room with a View.
It’s true, Hollywood can’t get enough of our man Giacomo, he even has his own IMDb page! Here is a list of the times Puccini was heard on the silver screen, click here.
Puccini, Dante, & Religion
The church, Catholicism in this case, is a recurring subject throughout the works of Puccini. He came from a long line of church musicians and his first major work was actually a mass, Messa di Gloria, that he completed for his graduation in 1880. Religion and prayer, structured or otherwise, come back in many of his operas, including Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, Girl of the Golden West, and Suor Angelica. To go even deeper into Puccini’s complex relationship with religion, read this article from the Lyric Opera of Kansas City with religion, click here to read.
Did you know the character Gianni Schicchi comes from one of Puccini’s favorite books Dante’s Divine Comedy? In the work, Dante describes 9 circles of hell: 1: Limbo, 2: Lust, 3: Gluttony, 4: Greed, 5: Anger, 6: Heresy, 7: Violence, 8: Fraud, 9: Treachery. Schicchi is mentioned during Dante’s chapter about the 8th Circle of hell, fraud, for falsifying the will of Buoso Donati. While Gianni Schicchi is a direct reference, Il Trittico as a whole is also inspired by Dante’s great work and allowed Puccini inspiration to dive into subject matter that discussed hell, purgatory, and paradise.
Today each opera of Il Trittico is sometime programmed as a pair or single works, however, Puccini intended all three to be performed as one complete theatrical experience. Catherine Duault explores the relationship of all three operas in her article, Puccini’s Il Trittico: The Rule of Three. WQXR explores these pieces separately and as a whole as well.
Bring Uncle Buoso back!
The plot of Gianni Schicchi, the third opera in Il Trittico, revolves around the title character impersonating the deceased Uncle Buoso Donati in order to change the contents of his will. Bring Uncle (Zio) Buoso back with John’s pre-opera cocktail, “Corpse Reviver!” He’ll make it up right here, in case you wanted to see him conjure up this lost soul.
Ingredients: Absinthe, to rinse, 3/4 oz Gin, 3/4 oz Cointreau, 3/4 oz Lillet blanc, 3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice, Citrus Peel (lemon or Orange) to Garnish
Directions: Rinse a chilled coupe glass with Absinthe and set glass to the side (either spritz the coup, like shown in video, or add a small amount to coup and swirl to wet the glass, discard extra liquid). Add Gin, Cointreau, Lillet blanc, and Lemon juice to a shaker with ice and shake till chilled. Strain into the prepared coupe and garnish with a citrus peel. Enjoy!
Synopsis
Super Cliff Notes Version:
Opera 1: Il Tabarro: Husband and Wife on a barge, wife has affair and husband kills her lover!
Opera 2: Suor Angelica: Unwed mother sent to convent, disinherited, commits suicide to be with son in Heaven.
Opera 3: Gianni Schicchi: Uncle died and left all his estate to monastery, crooked lawyer brought in to fix it, pretends to be the uncle and keeps most of the estate for himself.
Cliff Notes Version:
Opera 1: Il Tabarro: Location: A barge on the river Seine in Paris. Michele, captain of a barge, is madly in love with his wife Giorgetta, they recently suffered the death of their only child. Giorgetta, who is much younger than her husband, is having an affair with Luigi, a worker on the barge. Ultimately, Michele discovers who his wife lover is and murders him.
Opera 2: Suor Angelica: Location: A convent in seventeenth century Italy. Prior to the start of the opera, Suor Angelica had a child out of wedlock and her noble family has sent her to a convent. Her aunt visits and makes Angelica sign papers renouncing her inheritance. Before leaving, she tells Angelica that her son had died. Suor Angelica, filled with despair, commits suicide in hopes God will save her and her son.
Opera 3: Gianni Schicchi: Location: Florence, 1299, at the Donati household. Old Uncle Buoso Donati has died and the household is in mourning, especially when they find out they have been disinherited and the uncle’s estate is willed to a local monastery. The family call for a lawyer with a dubious reputation, Gianni Schicchi, at the advise of their son Rinuccio, who is in love with Schicchi’s daughter Lauretta. Schicchi has the family call the notary and then jumps into the bed to impersonates the old uncle and create a new will. While dictating the new will of the estate, instead of going to the original plan, he gives the family some property, but leaves the bulk of the estate to himself. At the end of the opera, he kicks out the family from “his” new house and gives it to Rinuccio and Lauretta so they can marry.
Full Version:
Read the full synopsis from the Israeli Opera House, click here!
On with the show!
Opera companies are streaming a ton of archival footage and shows online during quarantine. Here are a few places to find full length versions of Il Trittico, or each of the individual operas that make up the trio.
Rent all three operas that make up Il Trittico at the Met for $3.99
Il tabarro at La Scala (1983 production)
Suor Angelica at the Royal Opera House
Gianni Schicchi at the Royal Opera House
More arias!!!
With Puccini you get lush gorgeous melodies and Il Trittico has no shortage of them. Here are some links to arias from each show!
Il tabarro: È ben altro il mio sogno!; Patricia Racette, Beverly Sills, Leontyne Price
Suor Angelica: Senza Mamma; Leontyne Price, Mirella Freni, Renota Scotto
Gianni Schicchi: Fireneze è come un albero fiorito; Juan Diego Florez, Jonas Kaufmann
Did you know?
Puccini’s life read like a soap opera. He had lots of affairs, a common law wife whose husband died just as he was about to leave her for another woman, a terrible car crash…if you’re curious, I’ll leave this article right here.
For context, Puccini's Manon Lescaut appeared within a week of the premiere of Verdi's last opera, Falstaff, which was first performed on 9 February 1893. Puccini married the Romantic style into verismo, an operatic version of naturalism, or a focus on being more realistic in the storytelling. (Although I don’t know how realistic an opera can be, with all the singing!) Pagliacci, Andrea Chenier, Cavalleria Rusticana and Tosca all fall within this definition. Per Willia, Schoell, "[v]erismo operas focused not on gods, mythological figures, or kings and queens, but on the average contemporary man and woman and their problems, generally of a sexual, romantic, or violent nature." Many of the enduring examples relied upon great historical figures as subjects. Listen for music that connects all the way through, and fits tightly with the storyline. This is a change from “numbers operas”, which have clearly delineated pieces that make up a whole. Some singers say trying to use Puccini in an audition feels incomplete, as you’re never really at a true end of a section.
Puccini was sixth of nine kids, and a fifth generation working musician. The Puccini family occupied the position of maestro di cappella for 124 years (1740–1864). Giacomo Puccini sang in the boys’ choir, but couldn’t take over for his dad because he was 6 when his dad passed away.