Puccini : Il Trittico (Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi) - 1983 La Scala Production
On the operas.
Il Tabarro (The Cloak) : I've long wanted to see this opera because it has an aria that I learned a long time ago in it. The plot is your standard "Wife, who's baby has died, no longer can stand her husband so she flees into the arms of a younger, better-looking man. Lover complains about how awful the world is the night after he's had sex with the wife. Lover persuades her to engage in another tryst. Husband lays trap and kills lover and then his wife." Musically, the highlight is the duet between the wife and lover. Not really anything great enough to justify the stupid, depressing plot.
Suor Angelica : Lame, lame, lame. The only reason this opera has survived at all is because it takes advantage of the fact that sopranos are easier to come by than tenors or baritones (and it is by Puccini). Slow, depressing vignette of a woman who's been in a convent for seven years because of having a child out of wedlock. Upon hearing that the child has been dead for two years, she poisens herself. I liked the staging I saw live at the University of Utah better. In that staging the spirit of the child comes and guides the soul of the mother into heaven. Still, the absolutely most boring Puccini I've seen in any version. The title soprano did have a lovely voice though.
Gianni Schicchi : This is the one that is still performed the most and the reason is clear; it is a sort of funny story, your standard deathbed humor tale, and it has the most famous opera aria of all time, "O Mio Bambino Caro." That said, it is a cynical kind of humor and the aria loses impact when you read the translation in the subtitles. The performance was all right, but the costumes and set were really poor. Still, I was left with a grin at the end, which says something.
Overall : I don't really like this set. I love some of Puccini's music, but I've never been a fan of tragedy in a big way, so I'd rather listen to an album of famous Puccini arias than watch a Puccini opera (they are mostly tragic). Nevertheless, I'm working my way through them . . . mostly as an educational exercise.
Published by M Ryan Taylor
M Ryan Taylor is a composer vocalist writer with degrees in vocal performance and composition. He is a Halloween and Christmas enthusiast. His music has been produced by the Chicago Brass, Utah Premiere Bras... View profile
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7 Comments
Post a CommentI guess we do disagree, but that makes discussion fun doesn't it?
I wouldn't go as far as calling it boring though, but like you said, that's your view.
With all due respect, I don't think that having a degree in anything pertaining to music makes a difference here, as music is and will always be subjective to who ever listens to it.
And as you said, it is a "slice of life" in fact, that's why it's a One Act Opera. If I were you, I would give Suor Angelica another chance, after all, the third's the charm. If you were in Milan, you could come see ours. Maybe in the future. It was fun discussing this with you.
This is a review, which implies that everything I wrote above is my opinion. I do not need to preface every sentence with, 'In my opinion.'
As far as my lazyness is concerned, I have given Suor A. two chances. I've seen it live and on DVD. I don't like it. I have degrees in vocal performance and composition, and have performed in a number of operas myself, so looking at the score isn't likely to change that - I can use my ears.
Plot: When people refer to an 'ever-moving' plot, they are generally saying that a lot of action happens in a short space of time. Not much happens in Suor A. (you can't include the backstory, only what happens on stage), it is much more a 'slice of life' piece, true to the verismo tradition.
You're obviously upset that I don't care for something you treasure. I'm afraid we'll just have to disagree.
I think you have the right to state your opinion, as long as you state it as such and not as a given fact, as you did:
"The only reason this opera has survived at all is because it takes advantage of the fact that sopranos are easier to come by than tenors or baritones" This, is your opinion of course, but it's certainly not a fact.
I would also suggest you look into the score. I just simply can't understand why you find it boring. Boredom, in my opinion of course, is for the lazy.
So Mr. Taylor, in your opinion, what constitutes a plot? By definition, Suor Angelica most certainly has one, if not, check the dictionary yourself: "Plot.-Also called storyline. the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story." There is a story, this nun actually lived in a convent near the region of Lazio in Italy. I'm sure you've lived a life, wouldn't you call your life a story? wouldn't it have a plot?
Sorry for the typo; that, of course, should have been 'tragedy.'
Also, compared with a Mozart opera or Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, Suor A. has no plot, not an 'ever-moving' one.
G., I'm sorry, but I don't agree with you. Not caring for tradgedy as an entertainment doesn't make me heartless, and musically, Suor A. is boring. La Boheme, though tragic, is not boring. Neither is Turandot.
I'm sorry Mr. Taylor but I have to say that your critique on Puccini's Suor Angelica is entirely mistaken. Suor Angelica has survived because of its musical beauty and because of its ever-moving plot. If there was one thing Puccini knew how to do with his music was to heighten every human sentiment to the highest power. Suor Angelica is no exception to this Puccini rule. How can you say it's boring? He was actually inspired by a true story. Unless you're heartless, I find the story of a beautiful young woman who made the "awful" mistake of having a child out of wedlock, then sent away to a convent as punishment as well as being disowned by her family and the one visit she gets from a family member is to be forced to sign a renouncement to her inheritance only to then find out that her one motive in life has died, I find it tragically moving. You really don't think so? I find it dramatically exquisite. Maybe it was because of the production you saw, but I h