Il Trittico @ Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

With a total run time of four hours, Scottish Opera's rare, complete staging of Puccini's Il Trittico is a different kind of theatre-going experience. However, the end of each interval sees the audience eagerly awaiting the next instalment, its stunning visuals woven together with unforgettable performances to evoke something deep and complex about our current lives. 

The first one-act, Il Tabarro, sets a dreary, rust-coloured tone. Sunyoung Seo (Giorgetta) and Viktor Antipenko (Luigi) cut straight to the heart in their Scottish Opera debuts. However, jumbled blocking and limited lighting obscure the performers' ability to convey the full weight of the story – at times, the soloists, chorus, and set fade into each other in a disorienting wash of neutral tones. 

The triptych launches into action with Suor Angelica. In a stark contrast with Il Tabarro's hazy rust, the set of Suor Angelica is simultaneously beautiful and claustrophobic. All over the set, doors lead off into corridors and side rooms, and natural light streams in. The high walls of the convent close in around the sisters as they satirise – and dramatise – their day-to-day lives.

From the outset, tragedy and satire tumble over each other. Sunyoung Seo is transcendent in the titular role; among the starkness of the set, Suor Angelica's wordless grief is thrust forward. It is the dramatic lynchpin of the entire triptych, and the kind of startlingly human performance that lingers.

The cast of Gianni Schicchi. Photo: James Glossop

The best-known of these three operas, Gianni Schicchi, is last. The rising curtain elicits delighted gasps from the audience – the room is piled high with dusty knick-knacks. Posters, paintings, and taxidermy stand out among seemingly insurmountable clutter. The piece is set firmly in the 1970s; the costumes tell the equally colourful story of a family of old money snobs reaching the end of their rope. Sioned Gwen Davies (La Ciesca) and Máire Flavin (Nella) give standout performances in this love letter to Florence and to art. 

Il Trittico sports a truly impressive lineup of Scottish Opera debuts, including additional standouts Julian Close and Francesca Chiejina. In triptych form, the three operas expose throughlines interrogating grief, love, status, and faith – four of our most fundamental human experiences. Though this production met some obstacles in its first act, it was well worth the time. 

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Run ended
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