Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicchi
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Schoenberg Hall
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By Michael Van Duzer
Giacomo Puccini’s IL TRITTICO was premiered at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1918. Puccini was at the height of his fame and TRITTICO, which consisted of three one-act operas, was rightly hailed as an extraordinary feat. But the operas, as a unit, never gained true acceptance in the repertoire of major opera houses. Much of this came from the fact that each opera was written in a completely different style and had dissimilar casting requirements. With the doubling of roles not being easily managed, performances of TRITTICO became extremely expensive and, therefore, rare. However, each of the individual operas has, to varying degrees, had a life without the others.
Opera UCLA produced two of the three, SUOR ANGELICA and GIANNI SCHICCHI, as their winter offering. As Puccini’s only comedy (and a very good one at that), SCHICCHI is by far the more performed piece. And the ubiquitous use of its major aria “O mio babbino caro” in countless films and commercials has only added to its popularity. ANGELICA is Puccini at his most contemplative and though it is comparatively inert dramatically, its soaring melodies and beautifully suffering heroine stamp it as pure Puccini.
Director Peter Kazaras updated both operas with SUOR ANGELICA (Sister Angelica) apparently taking place sometime in the 1950’s. (It’s difficult to tell as cloistered nun’s habits don’t give much away.) At the performance I attended, Angelica was sung by Alison England. An initial touch of dryness quickly warmed to reveal a meltingly beautiful tone, and England sang with tenderness and dignity. But despite her convent surroundings, this Angelica remained an earthly creature—warm, sympathetic, and haunted by the mistake that brought her to her present life. As her aunt, The Princess, Rose Beattie wisely eschewed “old-lady” mannerisms and used her designer outfit to command attention. If she didn’t prove a vocal match for England in their confrontation scene, she was commendably clear and showed more sensitivity for Angelica’s plight than usual.
SCHICCHI had been updated even further—a television set and a laptop signaled that this was a story from yesterday’s news. Kazaras obviously decided that Puccini’s satire of greed would be best played with all comic guns blazing, and his cast threw themselves into the concept with complete abandon. Buoso Donati (usually dead at the curtain) made an appearance in a prologue that found him dragging his IV stand close to the television in order to watch a soccer game and dying of a heart attack during a contentious play. The discovery that his will leaves the bulk of his holdings to some friars sends his larcenous and loony family over the edge. Although SCHICCHI has often been used as a star vehicle for performers in the title role, it is a true ensemble opera, and Kazaras wisely directs it as such. Brian Cali proved a gruff-voiced, proletarian Schicchi in a jogging suit. Edgar Ernesto Ramirez was a focused Rinuccio with a pinched top and Karen Vuong was a respectable Lauretta. The entire company was commendably on the same page as the director so that all the laughs hit home. At the same time, Lauretta’s frantic face massage of her father during “O mio babbino caro”, while undeniably funny, might have been even more effective by stopping the frenzied action for a moment to let the audience catch its breath as Puccini intended.
Schoenberg Hall UCLA January 27 & February 3 at 8 PM;
January 29 & February 5 at 2PM
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