Il Trittico is not my favourite Puccini, though it is very interesting. All three operas forming Il Trittico, especially Gianni Schicchi, are great in their own way with good stories(Il Tabarro with its compactness, Suor Angelica with its hard hitting poignancy and Gianni Schicchi with its riotous fun) and amazing music. This San Francisco production is a mostly good one, not as good as the 1981 Me, 2007 Met, 2011 Royal Opera House, 1983 La Scala and 2007 Amarilli Nizza productions but better than the 2008 La Scala one.
Starting with the musical values, it is a solid reading from the orchestra with nuances for Suor Angelica(the plaintive violins in the delirious monologue were especially good), energy for Gianni Schicchi and intensity for Il Tabarro. I did think however that Patrick Summers' conducting lacked incisiveness. He is at his best at Gianni Schicchi with use of crescendos, showing fidelity to the score. Il Tabarro though could have been dramatic at times.
Of the costumes and sets, the most effective again was Gianni Schicchi, very imaginatively spaced and dream-like, as well as cinematic in how it was shot. Suor Angelica is perhaps the most realistically set of the three. It may be sparsely propped, but this added to the idea of the story and the titular character's predicament evolving, erupting and eventually resolving. Il Tabarro was the least effective, generally even for such a dark story it was too grimy and dimly lit. In regard to the staging Gianni Schicchi was wittily choreographed and Suor Angelica was movingly intense. Il Tabarro is sinister with Michele and while I admire that the director aimed to make Giorgetta and Luigi's love convincing, some of the lust did feel somewhat overstated.
Generally the performances are excellent with some exceptions.
Il Tabarro's principals are very well done. The best was Patricia Racette, she is a very charismatic presence and sings powerfully while blending very well with her Luigi Brandon Jovanovich. Jovanovich is a credible Luigi, handsome in that you can definitely see what Giorgetta sees in him and with a ringing voice. Paolo Gavanelli doesn't have the most powerful of voices but sings with a lovely tone and musicality. His Michele is very intense and devilish, and his uttering of "Tutti Quanti Portiamo Un Tabarro..." is both bleak and profound. The supporting cast are not as successful. Catherine Cook's Frugula is the best, she has a warm voice and makes the role sympathetic. Sadly Andrea Silvestrelli is under-pitch and metallic in vocal production, and Thomas Glenn is vocally sweet but under-powered.
Faring much better is Suor Angelica. In fact despite my praises for Gianni Schicchi in the musical and visual areas, in terms of staging and cast, it was Suor Angelica that was the most consistent. Racette gives a title role performance that is both intense and poignant, capturing all the psychological subtleties of the role-that of a repentant nun whose past comes back to haunt her- and she sings Senza Mamma beautifully. The Principessa of Ewa Podles is perhaps the best performance of the production. Her contralto voice is unique in tone(also has been the most steady it's been, much better than her La Cieca in the 2005 La Gioconda) and used with such command. As for the acting, Podles' Principessa was brutal, intense, quite icy and very embittered which is part of the reason why the opera is so hard-hitting. Watching her and Racette together, it is sort of like seeing a parallel between Angelica and Principessa to Liu and Turandot.
Gianni Schicchi is also brilliantly performed. The one exception is David Lomeli, whose singing is often flat and overall his Rinuccio lacks any kind of force or conviction. Gavanelli takes on Schicchi as well, a role that couldn't be more different to Michele. The lack of power in his voice can occasionally be a problem, but again his lovely tone and vocal nuances make up for it. As does his dramatic ability, he is very sly and funny, and does them with subtlety. Racette again is spot-on as Lauretta, spirited and humorous. O Mio Babbino Caro is the show-stopper it should be. The supporting cast is on a much more consistent level than in Il Tabarro, Meredith Arwady, Catherine Cook and Rebekah Camm are very characterful. The ensembles are very well co-ordinated in singing and in comic timing.
All in all, a solid Trittico if an uneven one. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Starting with the musical values, it is a solid reading from the orchestra with nuances for Suor Angelica(the plaintive violins in the delirious monologue were especially good), energy for Gianni Schicchi and intensity for Il Tabarro. I did think however that Patrick Summers' conducting lacked incisiveness. He is at his best at Gianni Schicchi with use of crescendos, showing fidelity to the score. Il Tabarro though could have been dramatic at times.
Of the costumes and sets, the most effective again was Gianni Schicchi, very imaginatively spaced and dream-like, as well as cinematic in how it was shot. Suor Angelica is perhaps the most realistically set of the three. It may be sparsely propped, but this added to the idea of the story and the titular character's predicament evolving, erupting and eventually resolving. Il Tabarro was the least effective, generally even for such a dark story it was too grimy and dimly lit. In regard to the staging Gianni Schicchi was wittily choreographed and Suor Angelica was movingly intense. Il Tabarro is sinister with Michele and while I admire that the director aimed to make Giorgetta and Luigi's love convincing, some of the lust did feel somewhat overstated.
Generally the performances are excellent with some exceptions.
Il Tabarro's principals are very well done. The best was Patricia Racette, she is a very charismatic presence and sings powerfully while blending very well with her Luigi Brandon Jovanovich. Jovanovich is a credible Luigi, handsome in that you can definitely see what Giorgetta sees in him and with a ringing voice. Paolo Gavanelli doesn't have the most powerful of voices but sings with a lovely tone and musicality. His Michele is very intense and devilish, and his uttering of "Tutti Quanti Portiamo Un Tabarro..." is both bleak and profound. The supporting cast are not as successful. Catherine Cook's Frugula is the best, she has a warm voice and makes the role sympathetic. Sadly Andrea Silvestrelli is under-pitch and metallic in vocal production, and Thomas Glenn is vocally sweet but under-powered.
Faring much better is Suor Angelica. In fact despite my praises for Gianni Schicchi in the musical and visual areas, in terms of staging and cast, it was Suor Angelica that was the most consistent. Racette gives a title role performance that is both intense and poignant, capturing all the psychological subtleties of the role-that of a repentant nun whose past comes back to haunt her- and she sings Senza Mamma beautifully. The Principessa of Ewa Podles is perhaps the best performance of the production. Her contralto voice is unique in tone(also has been the most steady it's been, much better than her La Cieca in the 2005 La Gioconda) and used with such command. As for the acting, Podles' Principessa was brutal, intense, quite icy and very embittered which is part of the reason why the opera is so hard-hitting. Watching her and Racette together, it is sort of like seeing a parallel between Angelica and Principessa to Liu and Turandot.
Gianni Schicchi is also brilliantly performed. The one exception is David Lomeli, whose singing is often flat and overall his Rinuccio lacks any kind of force or conviction. Gavanelli takes on Schicchi as well, a role that couldn't be more different to Michele. The lack of power in his voice can occasionally be a problem, but again his lovely tone and vocal nuances make up for it. As does his dramatic ability, he is very sly and funny, and does them with subtlety. Racette again is spot-on as Lauretta, spirited and humorous. O Mio Babbino Caro is the show-stopper it should be. The supporting cast is on a much more consistent level than in Il Tabarro, Meredith Arwady, Catherine Cook and Rebekah Camm are very characterful. The ensembles are very well co-ordinated in singing and in comic timing.
All in all, a solid Trittico if an uneven one. 7/10 Bethany Cox
