Puccini's "Il Trittico" from the Met
Puccini's "Il Trittico" (The Triptych - The Met, April 28, 2007)
This was the last in the Great Performances at the Met to be shown in theaters this season- and consequently, the largest production in the Met's history, as well. Nothing like going out with a bang. Il Trittico is basically three separate, one hour operas- the first two are tragedies, the last one is a comedy. I will review each, then give my overall review.
"Il Tabarro" (The Cloak)
This is the darkest of the three- a boat owner, Michele finds that his wife has been cheating on him with one of his workers, Luigi. In true verismo style, the piece ends with Michele strangling Luigi to death then throwing his lifeless corpse in front of his wife's horrified eyes. I don't know if it was either the story, or the way this one was staged (I think it is probably the former- the latter was pretty well done), but I got bored with this one- everyone KNOWS what is going to happen. The music suggests it the entire time, and there seems to be a lot of emotional detachment from the plight of the forbidden lovers, as well as the cuckolded husband. I read that this is normally the strongest of the three, but I didn't really like it that much.
Rating: 6/10
"Suor Angelica" (Sister Angelica)
This one is about a nun who has been in a convent for the past 7 years, and all this time has never heard from her family. One day, her Aunt, the Princess, arrives, but instead of giving Angelica any kind of forgiveness (we find out that she bore an illegitimate child 7 years earlier), she has come to tell her that the child died 2 years ago. Angelica is distraught, and makes up her mind to kill herself in order to be with her boy. In her aria, "Senza mamma", she sings of how her boy has died without her. She drinks some poison- but then realizes she has damned herself for the unforgivable sin of suicide, and will not be able to be with her boy in heaven. She prays to the Virgin Mary to save her, and in the end, she dies, and her boy appears before her. I was very moved by this one emotionally, and the stunning job done by Barbara Frittoli as Angelica left me in tears. In what is normally considered the weakest of the three operas, she and the soaring music managed to make it the highlight of the production.
Rating: 9/10
"Gianni Schicchi"
This is the lone comedy of the three- and consequently, the only comedy Puccini ever wrote. Sad, really, considering how entertaining it is. It's your standard story of rich man dies, leaving all of his money to the church instead of his greedy relatives. When they find his will, they enlist the help of Gianni Schicchi, a poor country man with the brains to come up with a scheme. He refuses until his daughter, who is love with the son of one of the relatives, threatens to throw herself off the bridge if she isn't allowed to marry- this is the famous "O mio babbino caro" aria- admittedly, this was the first time I had ever heard it, but it is quite pretty, even if it is one of the funniest songs about suicide I have ever heard. Of course, Gianni Schicchi comes up with the idea of pretending to be the dead man, bringing in the notary and drawing up a new will. Alessandro Corbelli was wonderful as Gianni Schicchi, with perfect comedic timing and expressions to pull off the wiley, yet lovable rogue, who makes sure that the greedy relatives are given what they deserve. The music is very entertaining, and it was a relief to end on a happy note after the first two stories.
Rating: 8/10
Now, my impressions overall- I tend to prefer Bel Canto over Verismo, because, although verismo makes the music a great device for moving the story along, it also blends into the background, and the only time in the opera that I was particularly struck by the force of the music was during Suor Angelica- the rest of it I probably wouldn't recognize it if I listened to it again. Basically, I find verismo more fun to watch than to listen to.
As far as the production itself, I was extremely impressed with the sets and stage directing. All top-notch.
Rating overall: 8/10
Next on the list: "Carmen" in Knoxville this Friday (Rossini festival, here I come!), an encore presentation of "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" next Tuesday, and the Pittsburgh Opera's performance of "Billy Budd" (starring Nathan Gunn) later in the month.
This was the last in the Great Performances at the Met to be shown in theaters this season- and consequently, the largest production in the Met's history, as well. Nothing like going out with a bang. Il Trittico is basically three separate, one hour operas- the first two are tragedies, the last one is a comedy. I will review each, then give my overall review.
"Il Tabarro" (The Cloak)
This is the darkest of the three- a boat owner, Michele finds that his wife has been cheating on him with one of his workers, Luigi. In true verismo style, the piece ends with Michele strangling Luigi to death then throwing his lifeless corpse in front of his wife's horrified eyes. I don't know if it was either the story, or the way this one was staged (I think it is probably the former- the latter was pretty well done), but I got bored with this one- everyone KNOWS what is going to happen. The music suggests it the entire time, and there seems to be a lot of emotional detachment from the plight of the forbidden lovers, as well as the cuckolded husband. I read that this is normally the strongest of the three, but I didn't really like it that much.
Rating: 6/10
"Suor Angelica" (Sister Angelica)
This one is about a nun who has been in a convent for the past 7 years, and all this time has never heard from her family. One day, her Aunt, the Princess, arrives, but instead of giving Angelica any kind of forgiveness (we find out that she bore an illegitimate child 7 years earlier), she has come to tell her that the child died 2 years ago. Angelica is distraught, and makes up her mind to kill herself in order to be with her boy. In her aria, "Senza mamma", she sings of how her boy has died without her. She drinks some poison- but then realizes she has damned herself for the unforgivable sin of suicide, and will not be able to be with her boy in heaven. She prays to the Virgin Mary to save her, and in the end, she dies, and her boy appears before her. I was very moved by this one emotionally, and the stunning job done by Barbara Frittoli as Angelica left me in tears. In what is normally considered the weakest of the three operas, she and the soaring music managed to make it the highlight of the production.
Rating: 9/10
"Gianni Schicchi"
This is the lone comedy of the three- and consequently, the only comedy Puccini ever wrote. Sad, really, considering how entertaining it is. It's your standard story of rich man dies, leaving all of his money to the church instead of his greedy relatives. When they find his will, they enlist the help of Gianni Schicchi, a poor country man with the brains to come up with a scheme. He refuses until his daughter, who is love with the son of one of the relatives, threatens to throw herself off the bridge if she isn't allowed to marry- this is the famous "O mio babbino caro" aria- admittedly, this was the first time I had ever heard it, but it is quite pretty, even if it is one of the funniest songs about suicide I have ever heard. Of course, Gianni Schicchi comes up with the idea of pretending to be the dead man, bringing in the notary and drawing up a new will. Alessandro Corbelli was wonderful as Gianni Schicchi, with perfect comedic timing and expressions to pull off the wiley, yet lovable rogue, who makes sure that the greedy relatives are given what they deserve. The music is very entertaining, and it was a relief to end on a happy note after the first two stories.
Rating: 8/10
Now, my impressions overall- I tend to prefer Bel Canto over Verismo, because, although verismo makes the music a great device for moving the story along, it also blends into the background, and the only time in the opera that I was particularly struck by the force of the music was during Suor Angelica- the rest of it I probably wouldn't recognize it if I listened to it again. Basically, I find verismo more fun to watch than to listen to.
As far as the production itself, I was extremely impressed with the sets and stage directing. All top-notch.
Rating overall: 8/10
Next on the list: "Carmen" in Knoxville this Friday (Rossini festival, here I come!), an encore presentation of "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" next Tuesday, and the Pittsburgh Opera's performance of "Billy Budd" (starring Nathan Gunn) later in the month.