GIANNI SCHICCHI and L'ENFANT Make the Perfect Comic Pairing 03-18-2009 This spring the Opera Company of Philadelphia presents a delightful double-bill of two one-act operas; one very French, one very Italian and both about the comic results of families behaving badly! The master of melody, Giacomo Puccini, only made one foray into the realm of comic opera; which is unfortunate, considering that Gianni Schicchi has been lauded by some scholars as the funniest opera ever written. Throughout his career, Puccini entertained the idea of writing a comic opera but was hesitant to stray far from the dramatic subjects that had gained him so much success. Also on his mind had been the idea of combining three one-act operas into one single evening and after finally convincing his publisher of the idea, Puccini began work on Il trittico in 1913. He completed the first panel of his triptych, Il tabarro, in 1916 with no ideas of what the other two pieces would be. There is disagreement as to whether it was Puccini or his librettist Giovacchino Forzano who first had the idea to base a comedy on a short passage from Dante’s Inferno. Regardless, the libretto was complete by June of 1917, and after setting it aside to complete the second part, Suor Angelica, Puccini completed Gianni Schicchi in 1918. Baritone Mark Stone (Falstaff,'07) returns in the title role of Gianni Schicchi. It is the story of a sly rogue who cheats a family out of a substantial inheritance. When Buoso Donati dies and leaves all of his considerable estate to charity, his greedy relatives decide to take matters into their own hands. Rinuccio suggests they enlist the help of Gianni Schicchi, a well-known local scoundrel and the father of his sweetheart Lauretta. The plan is simple; Schicchi takes the deceased’s place in bed and, after convincing even the doctor that he is in fact Donati, they call a notary so that he can make a new will. But the family quickly learns that you should never trust the local rogue, when he wills the bulk of the old man’s property to himself. He chases them all out of his newly acquired house, all except, of course, his son-in-law to be, Rinuccio, who remains with Lauretta in their future home. Gianni Schicchi features one of the most beloved and recognizable arias of all time, “O mio babbino caro” (Click here to listen), and boasts a marvelous cast full of comic all-stars. As the cunning title character, baritone Mark Stone returns to the Academy of Music to delight audiences once more. Since his performance as Ford in the 2007 production of Falstaff, his roles have included and Enrico in English National Opera’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore with Welsh National Opera, and Guglielmo in Santa Fe Opera’s Così fan tutte. As Schicchi’s daughter Lauretta, soprano Ailyn Pérez makes her second appearance of the season – she made her OCP debut as Marzellina in the ground-breaking Jun Kanko production of Fidelio this past fall – with real-life husband Stephen Costello singing the tenor role of Rinuccio. Costello, who made his OCP debut in the 2008 production of Cyrano, made his triumphant Metropolitan Opera debut in 2007, and had recent leading engagements in Detroit and Dallas, and performed the role of the Duke in Rigoletto at the Teatro delle Muse in Italy. Paired with Puccini’s comic masterpiece is a delightfully enchanting look into the mind of a child. French composer Maurice Ravel had already completed his first opera L’heure espagnole to mixed reviews when Jacques Rouché, the newly appointed director of the Paris Opera commissioned the famous French author Colette to write an opera and suggested Ravel as her collaborator. Colette originally set out to write a fairy ballet but what eventually transpired was the magical and charming one-act opera L’enfant et les sortilèges. Mezzo-soprano Lauren McNeese makes her OCP debut as the titlerole in L’enfant. L’enfant is the fantastical tale of a stubborn child who is punished by his mother for bad behavior. After taking out his anger in a fit of temper, kicking over chairs and tearing up his books, the objects he has treated so badly suddenly come to life. The fire refuses to warm him. A princess from his fairytale book emerges and tells him she is through with him. His chair refuses to let him sit down. In the garden, several animals gather to tell the child how naughty he is. Terrified, the child calls for his mother. As the animals rush to attack him, a squirrel is wounded, and the child bandages it. Impressed with his kindness, the animals join in a chorus and help him call to his mother. Both the composer and the librettist were cat lovers and it is hard to image a more perfect homage to their feline friends then the whimsical cat duet that has become one of the most beloved pieces of music from this work. In addition to writing music that animates and brings to life objects such as a Fire, an Armchair, and a teapot, Ravel’s sweeping orchestral music is so lush and encompassing that it easily carries listeners away. Starring in the title role is mezzo-soprano Lauren McNeese in her Opera Company of Philadelphia debut. An alumna of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center for American Artists, McNeese has had recent engagements as Zerlina in Don Giovanni and La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi at Los Angeles Opera, as well as Wellgunde in the San Francisco Opera production of Das Rheingold. Baritone Marian Pop, who wowed audiences in his OCP debut as the title character in last season’s Cyrano, returns to sing the Grandfather Clock and the Black Cat in L’enfant, as well as Marco in Gianni Schicchi. Director Robert B. Driver marries these two productions about family behaving badly with the help of celebrated Italian designer Guia Buzzi in her Opera Company debut, with video design from Lorenzo Curone and costumes by Richard St. Clair. Music Director Corrado Rovaris leads the performance, which features choreography by Amanda Miller. Don’t miss this delightful evening of fantasy and farce! Buy your tickets now! Click here for more information about L’enfant et les sortilèges and Gianni Schicchi and read more about the production. Read about the stage craft bringing these two operas to life! Click here to listen to the music.
This spring the Opera Company of Philadelphia presents a delightful double-bill of two one-act operas; one very French, one very Italian and both about the comic results of families behaving badly!
The master of melody, Giacomo Puccini, only made one foray into the realm of comic opera; which is unfortunate, considering that Gianni Schicchi has been lauded by some scholars as the funniest opera ever written. Throughout his career, Puccini entertained the idea of writing a comic opera but was hesitant to stray far from the dramatic subjects that had gained him so much success. Also on his mind had been the idea of combining three one-act operas into one single evening and after finally convincing his publisher of the idea, Puccini began work on Il trittico in 1913. He completed the first panel of his triptych, Il tabarro, in 1916 with no ideas of what the other two pieces would be. There is disagreement as to whether it was Puccini or his librettist Giovacchino Forzano who first had the idea to base a comedy on a short passage from Dante’s Inferno. Regardless, the libretto was complete by June of 1917, and after setting it aside to complete the second part, Suor Angelica, Puccini completed Gianni Schicchi in 1918.
Baritone Mark Stone (Falstaff,'07) returns in the title role of Gianni Schicchi.
It is the story of a sly rogue who cheats a family out of a substantial inheritance. When Buoso Donati dies and leaves all of his considerable estate to charity, his greedy relatives decide to take matters into their own hands. Rinuccio suggests they enlist the help of Gianni Schicchi, a well-known local scoundrel and the father of his sweetheart Lauretta. The plan is simple; Schicchi takes the deceased’s place in bed and, after convincing even the doctor that he is in fact Donati, they call a notary so that he can make a new will. But the family quickly learns that you should never trust the local rogue, when he wills the bulk of the old man’s property to himself. He chases them all out of his newly acquired house, all except, of course, his son-in-law to be, Rinuccio, who remains with Lauretta in their future home.
Gianni Schicchi features one of the most beloved and recognizable arias of all time, “O mio babbino caro” (Click here to listen), and boasts a marvelous cast full of comic all-stars. As the cunning title character, baritone Mark Stone returns to the Academy of Music to delight audiences once more. Since his performance as Ford in the 2007 production of Falstaff, his roles have included and Enrico in English National Opera’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore with Welsh National Opera, and Guglielmo in Santa Fe Opera’s Così fan tutte.
As Schicchi’s daughter Lauretta, soprano Ailyn Pérez makes her second appearance of the season – she made her OCP debut as Marzellina in the ground-breaking Jun Kanko production of Fidelio this past fall – with real-life husband Stephen Costello singing the tenor role of Rinuccio. Costello, who made his OCP debut in the 2008 production of Cyrano, made his triumphant Metropolitan Opera debut in 2007, and had recent leading engagements in Detroit and Dallas, and performed the role of the Duke in Rigoletto at the Teatro delle Muse in Italy.
Paired with Puccini’s comic masterpiece is a delightfully enchanting look into the mind of a child. French composer Maurice Ravel had already completed his first opera L’heure espagnole to mixed reviews when Jacques Rouché, the newly appointed director of the Paris Opera commissioned the famous French author Colette to write an opera and suggested Ravel as her collaborator. Colette originally set out to write a fairy ballet but what eventually transpired was the magical and charming one-act opera L’enfant et les sortilèges.
Mezzo-soprano Lauren McNeese makes her OCP debut as the titlerole in L’enfant.
L’enfant is the fantastical tale of a stubborn child who is punished by his mother for bad behavior. After taking out his anger in a fit of temper, kicking over chairs and tearing up his books, the objects he has treated so badly suddenly come to life. The fire refuses to warm him. A princess from his fairytale book emerges and tells him she is through with him. His chair refuses to let him sit down. In the garden, several animals gather to tell the child how naughty he is. Terrified, the child calls for his mother. As the animals rush to attack him, a squirrel is wounded, and the child bandages it. Impressed with his kindness, the animals join in a chorus and help him call to his mother.
Both the composer and the librettist were cat lovers and it is hard to image a more perfect homage to their feline friends then the whimsical cat duet that has become one of the most beloved pieces of music from this work. In addition to writing music that animates and brings to life objects such as a Fire, an Armchair, and a teapot, Ravel’s sweeping orchestral music is so lush and encompassing that it easily carries listeners away.
Starring in the title role is mezzo-soprano Lauren McNeese in her Opera Company of Philadelphia debut. An alumna of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center for American Artists, McNeese has had recent engagements as Zerlina in Don Giovanni and La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi at Los Angeles Opera, as well as Wellgunde in the San Francisco Opera production of Das Rheingold. Baritone Marian Pop, who wowed audiences in his OCP debut as the title character in last season’s Cyrano, returns to sing the Grandfather Clock and the Black Cat in L’enfant, as well as Marco in Gianni Schicchi.
Director Robert B. Driver marries these two productions about family behaving badly with the help of celebrated Italian designer Guia Buzzi in her Opera Company debut, with video design from Lorenzo Curone and costumes by Richard St. Clair. Music Director Corrado Rovaris leads the performance, which features choreography by Amanda Miller. Don’t miss this delightful evening of fantasy and farce!
Buy your tickets now!
Click here for more information about L’enfant et les sortilèges and Gianni Schicchi and read more about the production.
Read about the stage craft bringing these two operas to life!
Click here to listen to the music.
