The 1st 2 operas in Puccini's Il trittico (The Triptych)

Conductor Antonio Pappano

DirectorRichard Jones

Il tabararro

Michele Lucio Gallo

GiorgettaEva-Maria Westbroek

Luigi Aleksandrs Antonenko

Suor Angelica

Sister Angelica Ermonala Jaho

The Princess Anna Larsson

Two-thirds of Puccini’s Il trittico (The Triptych):

Il tabarro and Suor Angelica

The Royal Opera House, 2011

Hoping to cash-in on the fashion for one-act operas begun by Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, Giacomo Puccini began planning a set of one-acters, and Il trittico was the result. It consists of three very different short operas, intended to be performed together: First up is Il tabarro, a full-throated, gritty melodrama, which stars Lucio Gallo, Eva-Maria Westbroek, and Aneksandrs Antonenko in this 2011 production from the Royal Opera. Next, Suor Angelica is a tale of religious redemption, starring Ermanelo Jaho in her break-out role. We’ll screen the final opera of the three, Gianni Schicchi, which The Guardian describes as a night at the opera, that is “even funnier than A Night at the Opera,” in February.

Each of the operas in Il trittico deals with the concealment of a death, albeit with very different treatments. Il tabarro is dark and brooding; Suor Angelica is ultimately uplifting; and Gianni Schicchi is one of the funniest operas in the canon. These 2011 performances of Il tabarro and Suor Angelica have another link, the conductor Antonio Pappano. The Guardian explains how very special that link is, “Pappano is unrivalled in this music. He can tackle anything but he is a Puccinian to the core, his recording of Il trittico definitive. Every nuance in these fertile scores was exquisitely shaped and keenly delivered by the ROH orchestra.”

All are welcome. The program will begin promptly at 4 p.m. in the Board Room; there will be one 15-minute intermission; and it will end at 6:30 p.m. Please remember to arrive early and enjoy a glass of wine or champagne before.