ROYAL OPERA GIANNI SCHICHI

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Music by Giacomo Puccini, Libretto by Giovacchino Forzano

Director: Richard Jones

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, led by Antonio Pappano

Principal roles:

Schicchi – Lucio Gallo

Lauretta – Ekaterina Siurina

Rinuccio – Francesco Demuro

Zitta – Elena Zilio

Simone – Gwynne Howell

Betto – Jeremy White

Marco – Robert Poulton

Ciesca – Marie McLaughlin

Gherardo – Alan Oke

Nella – Lisa Anne Robinson

The Royal Opera House Gianni Schicchi would have made Puccini very happy. Recently released as part of the Royal Opera collection of 18 productions on DVD, this one dating back to 2011, gives the 1918, one-act, 60-minute- long comic gem inspired stage direction of Richard Jones, superb conducting by Antonio Pappano, and a brilliant cast led by Italian baritone Lucio Gallo in the title role.

Everything in this modern dress take on Puccini’s madcap romp coalesces into musical and dramatic perfection including a production design that elevates tackiness to an art form, with a set design by John Macfarlane and costume design by Nicky Gillebrand.

The tech aspects of both video and sound are tops.

This DVD is part of the Royal Opera Collection (  OA1337BD / OABD7291BD).    

Rafael de Acha      ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”