Search - Puccini - Il Trittico (Il Tabarro / Suor Angelica / Gianni Schicchi) / Gavazzeni, La Scala on DVD

YES and NO

Retired Opera Singer | Tyler, TX | 08/20/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have always loved this threesome, though I also consider Schicchi the weakest of all Puccini works. It is great to have it available to see as well as to listen to. After many years of singing opera for a living, I know that I may tend to be a little "jaded". So, as brief as possible: the singing in these performances is really quite good and I will not try to compare with so many better on audio only! That said: The real drawback of this is the staging and acting - did I say act and opera in the same sentence? Tabarro goes along fine until the "murder and revelation". It makes "opera" look as stilted as we know it can be. I know only too well how difficult it is to sing high C and attempt to act, but this was filmed. Sour Angelica - beautifully sung, even if Plowright has a "different" voice for this role and lacks the top notes requied. I simply do not know what that visual ending was suppose to be. I watched this DVD, for the first time, with a novice who had gotten the full build-up from me: only to be befuddled at the end. Sometimes I think that the old fashioned ,statue turns revealing "live" Madonna and a child, is better, not high tech, but effective. This DVD is worth buying because it is the only way to hear and see these works that no longer seem to be in favor and to show others that there is more to the Trittico than just "O mia Babino caro"!"

Some of the best Trittico

operavandy | 01/03/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I wish ALL acts of Il Trittico were more popular and more availible, but I am glad that these productions exist in order to provide more accessibility to such a wonderful set of operas. This production has its flaws, but then again what production doesn't? Tabarro is my favorite opera; and althought Sylvia Sass is a rather poor actress and her diction is less than articulate, her voice is quite nice as Giorgetta. Martinucci as Luigi does an admirable job with an extremely difficult role, but the real gem of the production is Piero Cappuccilli. Throughout the production Cappuccilli not only delivers the appropriate emotions, but he also delivers some of the most beautiful and menacing singing. His ending plea to Giorgetta is amazing, and "Nulla, silenzio" is perhaps at the finest I have heard it. This is a wonderful production with Cappuccilli; and even though the acting is not the best at times and even though it COULD be better, this production is more than satisfactory...it is GREAT

Suor Angelica is wonderful, but Plowright was not meant for that role. Angelica needs to be light, agile, and able to sing the C's and D's which are MEANT to be sung. All in all this is a good production, but I would have liked to see a better Angelica.

Gianni Schicchi is, as others have said, good but not great. It is loud for most of the production, but the wonderful Juan Pons delivers a superb performance as Gianni. The other roles are satisfactory and the story gets across to the audience. Once again this could have been better, but I enjoyed what was performed.

All in all this really is a set of good performances which are highlighted by Cappuccilli and Pons. I would suggest this DVD to anyone interested in developing a love for Tabarro and for anyone wishing to see three good performance of Puccini's Il Trittico."

Academic at best

R. Glaser | East Shore, CT | 04/29/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"These performances were way below what one would expect from La Scala. Though my least favorite of the Trittico was always 'Tabarro', it's the best one here as far as set, performances and direction. The three leads were all good, but the direction was adequate at best and besides, it's still the weakest of the trio and least performed for that reason.
Suor Angelica had a good orchestral performance, but that was it. I'd never seen Plowright live and based on this would avoid any performance she was in. The few high notes she did get (and they were few) were short and harsh as if she were a mezzo asked to hit a high C. The staging was grand but in an inappropriate way. It looked more like a stark palace than a cloistered convent. The ending was such a disappointment to me since I'd seen Scotto do this at the Met. Though I never liked the idea that the miracle is only seen by Angelica and not the audience, it requires an astounding performance to pull that off. Lastly the Gianni Schicci production gave me the sense that I was watching a production as staged by a 2nd rate Music College. Adequate, predictable, and limited. As if there were a bunch of musicians and theater people who got together to do something that they had never done before and, though talented, had no inspiration to do something special with it. It's as if they new it was a comedy, but had never seen one before.
There are a number of recordings out there and all are better than this.
If the current new production (2007) at the Met ever goes to DVD, I'd pay $100 for it without blinking an eye. There, a standard has been set."

IL TRITTICO

Charles D. Fleischer | Corte Madera, CA | 05/20/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a production from La Sacla in Milan. Puccini's music is always wonderful. The cast was well selected and the sets worked well. These are three one act operas that all deal with death and each one has its own drama. This was cought very well. The greatest drama is in SUOR ANGELICA and the soprano is outstanding. I recommend this if you are a Puccini fan."