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| David Parkin (Betto di Signa) - Tomas Dalton (Rinuccio) - Kanen Breen (Gherardo) -Jane Ede (Nella) - Alexander Hargreaves (Marco) - Adele Johnston (Zita) - Angela Hogan (La Ciesa) - Richard Anderson (Simone) -in "Gianni Schicchi" |
Composed by
Giacomo Puccini – Conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya
“IL Tabarro”
– Directed by Constantine Costi – “Suor Angelica” - Directed by Imara Savage
“Gianni
Schicchi” – Directed by Shaun Rennie
Set and Costumes designed by Michael Hankin –
Lighting designed by Verity Hampson
Assistant
Directors: Danielle Maas and Julia Robertson.
Intimacy and
Movement Director: Chloe Dallimore.
Joan
Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. 3rd to 19th July, 2024.
Opening
Night performance on July 3rd reviewed by BILL STEPHENS
Puccini’s
triptych of three disparate operas linked by a single theme relating to the
concealment of death, under the title, Il
Trittico, first premiered in the Metropolitan Opera House, New York in
1918, has been given a masterly production in the Sydney Opera House by Opera
Australia.
An inspired
idea by Artistic Director Jo Davies to divide the directing duties between three
of the country’s brightest young directors has resulted in as scintillating a
night of opera that offers something for everyone.
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| Virgilio Marino (Tinca) - Olivia Cranwell (Giorgetta) -Viktor Antipenko (Luigi) and the cast of "Il Tabarro" |
Constantine
Costi’s commission was Il Tabarro, a
turgid tale of murder brought about by jealousy; Imara Savage was allotted Suor Angelica, Puccini’s all-female
opera set in a convent, and Shaun Rennie drew the comic opera, Gianni Schicchi which focusses on the
shenanigans of an avaricious family fighting over their inheritance.
Designer
Michael Hankin was given the challenge of designing sets and costumes for all
three operas, while Russian-American conductor, Lidiya Yankovskaya was offered
to opportunity to conduct all three operas as her first Opera Australia engagement.
An added
bonus for this arrangement was the opportunity it provided for some of Opera
Australia’s most experienced singers to demonstrate their versatility by
casting them in contrasting roles in various of the operas.
Hankin’s detailed
setting for Il Tabarro seemed rather
more suggestive of a run-down apartment than a barge on the Seine. The presence
of deckhands unenthusiastically loading provisions did little to defuse the
claustrophobic atmosphere created by confining most of the playing area to one
side of the stage.
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| Viktor Antipenko (Luigi) - Simon Meadows (Michelle) in "Il Tabarro" |
However, despite
the unconvincing setting, Constantine Costi with three world class soloists at
his disposal as the three protagonists in Simon Meadows as the brooding Michelle;
Olivia Cranwell as his unhappy young wife, Giorgetta; and Viktor Antipenko as
Giorgetta’s unfortunate lover, Luigi; and
a dream supporting cast which included Angela Hogan, Richard Anderson, Virgilio
Marino and Stacey Alleaume; successfully
created an aching sense of foreboding
which reached its highpoint in Simon Meadows superb rendition of “Nulla!
Silenzio!”
No quibbles about Hankins’s gorgeous white-on-white set and costumes for Imara Savage’s superbly staged Suor Angelica for which the all-female cast achieved exactly the contemplative tone required for this opera.
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| The Opera Australia Chorus in "Suor Angelica" |
Establishing
the mood at the very beginning of the opera, savage allows the audience to
listen to a gorgeous rendition of the “Opening
Prayer” sung off-stage by the nuns while contemplating the high white walls which
enclose the garden that provide the only touch of colour.
The nuns entrance
to the garden to commence their daily chores, dressed in spotless white habits, introduced
Sister Angelica for whom the garden is her only solace as she isolates herself
from her fellow nuns to spend hours tending the plants while hopelessly
dreaming of being re-united with her child from whom she was separated at birth.
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| Lauren Fagan as Sister Angelica in "Suor Angelica" |
Lauren Fagan
is unforgettable as Sister Angelica. Her depiction of the nun’s response to being
asked by La Principessa to give up her child, and her rendition of the aria, “Senza
Mamma”, on learning of the child’s death, is almost unbearable to watch.
Fine
performances from Angela Hogan as La Principessa, Adele Johnston as The Abbess,
and Stacey Alleaume as the inquisitive Sister Genovieffa, together with the
succession of superbly sung choruses would make Imara Savage’s exquisite
staging definitive, were it not for the final moments for which, hopefully, she
might find a more imaginative solution for the miracle climax than having the
child make his entrance riding a three-wheel bike.
Intended by
the composer as a release from the intense emotion evoked by the first two
operas, the shenanigans of the Donati clan in his comic opera, Gianni Schicci, could hardly
fail.
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| Tomas Dalton (Rinuccio) - Adele Johnston (Zita) - David Parkin (Betto di Signa) - Richard Anderson (Simone) -Jane Ede (Nella) - Kanen Breen (Gherardo) Alexander Hargreaves (Marco) - Angela Hogan (La Ciesca) in "Gianni Schicchi" |
However this
production also contained surprises. Among them, the inspired inventiveness of Shaun Rennie’s clever,
high-camp staging which took advantage of every nook and cranny of Hankins’s
lavish, run-down Italian villa setting which the props department had obviously
had a field day furnishing; and the
obvious relish of the cast in embracing Rennie’s
silliness without in any way compromising the quality of their singing.
Baritone
Simon Meadows, so impressive earlier as the dour Michelle in Il Tabarro, surprised with his
delightfully light-hearted turn as the wily Gianni Schicchi. Adele Johnson, a vision in a purple satin
ensemble, was ridiculously funny as Zita, the take-no-prisoners cousin of Buoso
Donati.
Providing
stiff competition, the eye-catching antics of Kanen Breen as Buoso’s grasping
nephew, Gherardo, enthusiastically supported by Jane Ede as his wife, Nella and
Millie Price as their obnoxious son, Gherardino.
In no ways
overshadowed, Richard Anderson, Angela Hogan, David Parkin, Alexander
Hargreaves, Clifford Plumpton, Tomas Dalton, Tom Hamilton, Anthony Mackey and
Tristan Entwistle, all contributed to the mayhem shamelessly and uproariously mistreating
the dead body of their benefactor, Buoso Donati, portrayed by an unnamed actor
who deserves some sort of a medal for stoically enduring their manhandling
without ever cracking a smile.
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| Kanen Breen (Gherardo) - Alexander Hargreaves (Marco) with the body of Buoso Donati in "Gianni Schicci" |
But among
all the hilarity, the most memorable takeaway from this production of Gianni Schicchi was the flawless
rendition by Stacey Alleaume of one of the most popular soprano arias in opera,
“O Mio Babbino Caro”.
Glorious
singing from an outstanding cast supported by superb playing by the Opera
Australia Orchestra conducted with considerable aplomb by Lidiya Yankovskaya;
stamp this production of Il Trittico a
triumph for all concerned, and a wonderful showcase for Opera Australia.
Images by Keith Saunders
An edited version of this review first published in CITY NEWS ON 8th July 2024