Puccini’s idea of presenting three short operas in one evening led to the creation of his Il Trittico, or Triptych, which premiered in 1918. The tripartite structure, however, quickly fragmented, with the comic Gianni Schicchi becoming instantly popular while the emotional thriller Il Tabarro (The Cloak) and the intense personal tragedy of Suor Angelica (Sister Angelica) tended to fall by the wayside.
In recent times, though, increased attention has been paid to the work as the composer intended it to be performed. Martin Lloyd-Evans directed Gianni Schicchi for Opera Holland Park in 2012. Now Oliver Platt revives that staging while also taking on Suor Angelica, and Lloyd-Evans turns his attention to Il Tabarro; with some additions and subtractions, Neil Irish’s sombre set does duty for all three.
It certainly works well for Il Tabarro, set on board a Parisian barge where a standard love-triangle moves inexorably to its grotesque and bloody conclusion. Lighting conditions at Holland Park, however, where daylight lingers throughout the first piece, drain the final scene of credibility; lured by a lighted match to meet his lover Giorgetta on his boss Michele’s barge, Jeff Gwaltney’s Luigi initially appears to be heading off in the wrong direction, and it would take a larger cloak than Stephen Gadd’s Michele has at his disposal to hide the murdered stevedore’s body from Anne Sophie Duprels’s Giorgetta. Gadd nevertheless impresses with the dark core at the centre of his tone, though both Duprels and Gwaltney could do with more heft.
Suor Angelica is effectively staged, though the director bottles out of the final miracle, where Puccini intended a vision of the Virgin Mary surrounded by angels pushing the dying nun’s dead child towards her; here, Angelica merely writhes in suicidal agony.
Once again Duprels proves dramatically resourceful, but Puccini’s heroine ideally needs more flesh on her tone. In the opera’s other major role, that of Angelica’s vindictive aunt, Rosalind Plowright offers presence but diminished vocal resources.
As usual, it is the surefire Gianni Schicchi that comes closest to hitting the spot, even if there are few laughs during the opera itself and, ironically, more in a lengthy dumb-show played before the piece that neither Puccini nor his librettist contemplated.
But there’s solid ensemble work from the entire company, with Richard Burkhard delivering a confident Schicchi and Anna Patalong seizing her lyrical moment with his daughter Lauretta’s famous aria. Conductor Stuart Stratford motivates the City of London Sinfonia and maintains an eye for detail.
- In rep at Holland Park, London, until 27 June. Box office: 0300 999 1000.
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