Il Trittico

The new Royal Opera Season opens with a Puccini hat-trick, conducted by Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera.

Il trittico has not been presented in full by The Royal Opera since 1965, and now Richard Jones adds Il tabarro and Suor Angelica to his already popular production of Gianni Schicchi. Three short contrasting stories make up an evening of opera that has everything from jealousy, murder and suicide to romance, exuberance and sheer transcendent joy.

The cast is superb to bring out the full dramatic range: Eva-Maria Westbroek as the wife in the jealous triangle between her husband and her lover (Il tabarro), Anja Harteros as the nun finally released from a painful family secret (Suor Angelica), and Lucio Gallo as the eponymous Gianni Schicchi, who tricks a grasping family out of their inheritance in the cause of true love and comedy. While 'O mio babbino caro' has become one of the most famous arias from Il trittico, there is a wealth of music that shows Puccini at his most brilliant in character, melody and orchestration.

For anyone who likes their operatic cycles in concentrated form, this is an evening of dramatic power, emotional range and pure enjoyment to start the 2011/12 Season.