Opera Trittico di Puccini: Il Tabarro * Sour Angelica * Gianni Schicchi

Il trittico (The Triptych) is the title of a collection of three one-act operas, Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi, by Giacomo Puccini. Il tabarro is based on the drama La Houppelande, by Didier Gold. Reprinted edition. Place: A barge on the Seine in Paris. Time: 1910. The opera is very dark and brooding, full of the violence and grit associated with verismo opera. Michele, the captain, recalls happier days when he would shelter his much younger wife Giorgetta and their son under his cloak. But when the son died, the relationship is broken. Michele finds out that Giorgetta is having an affair with the stevedore Luigi. Michele confronts Luigi, kills him and presents the corpse, wrapped in the cloak, to his Giorgetta, his wife. Suor Angelica is set in a convent near Siena, in the 17th century. Seven years ago, Angelica was forced to enter this convent as punishment for having defamed her family by bearing a child out of wedlock. She hasn't had any contact with the outside world ever since then. Her aunt, the Princess, visits her to demand Angelica renounce her share of the family estate. Angelica is desperate for news of her son. The Princess coldly informs her that the boy died two years ago. Angelica commits suicide. Dying, she has a vision of being reunited with her child. Gianni Schicchi, a comic opera, take place in Florence, 1299 and it is based on the canto of Commedia by Dante Alighier. It unfolds at the deathbed of a wealthy patriarch, Buoso Donati. Each of the greedy family members hopes to inherit the biggest share of the estate. When they find the testament, they realize Donati has left his entire fortune to a monastery. They are desperate for a solution how to get hold of the estate. Rinuccio suggests they consult with Gianni Schicchi, the family's black sheep, a cheater, and deceiver. At first, the family rejects the idea, but Rinuccio, who is in love with Schicchi's daughter Lauretta, convinces them to summon Schicchi who arrives together with Lauretta. Schicchi suggests he himself will impersonate the dying Donati and make a new will that would bequeath all of Donati's properties to the family members. He warns everybody that forgery of a testament is a serious crime which will be severely punished by the law, so nobody must ever find out about their scheme. The family hides the corpse of Donati, while Schicchi takes the place of the dying man. When the notary arrives, Schicchi dictates a new will and, to the outrage of the family, makes sure that he himself gets the most valuable properties. This third opera is the most popular of the trio.