Puccini: Gianni Schicchi

“This Warner DVD offers idiomatic performances from La Scala of Puccini's trilogy. The productions are broadly traditional, with an ultra-realistic set for the grand guignol of Iltabarro and rather more stylised settings for SuorAngelica and Gianni Schicchi.
Casting is strong in Il tabarro, with Piero Cappuccilli in his prime as Michele, the cuckolded bargemaster. His appeal to Giorgetta, his estranged wife, is so passionate and tender that his climactic solo has your total sympathy. Sylvia Sass as Giorgetta tends to overact; the steely edge in her voice helps keep your sympathies with Michele. As Luigi, Nicola Martinucci is powerful and unstrained. Outstanding among the others is Eleonora Jankovic as La Frugola, firm of voice and characterful without overacting.
The staging of the murder and Michele's revealing of the body under his cloak, always tricky to bring off, is neatly managed.
The stylised set for Suor Angelica is unobjectionable.
What dominates, as it should, is Rosalind Plowright's moving performance of the title role.
Next to her, Dunja Vejzovic is disappointing, not so much vocally as in appearance and personality; she seems too young and lightweight; hardly the unforgiving Princess. The nuns are nicely touched in, and the chorus is impressive. Brian Large's direction sidesteps the final and sentimental vision of Angelica's dead child.
Gianni Schicchi is placed in an enormous apartment with a panoramic view over Florence. The claustrophobia that can add point to the comic story is entirely absent, but the set is undistracting.
Eleonora Jankovic again stands out among the incidental characters as the old woman, Zita, and Yuri Marusin as Rinuccio copes well with his big aria. Lauretta, his lover, is strongly cast, with Cecilia Gasdia luxuriantly drawing out 'O mio babbino caro' in finely shaded phrases, to the delight of the Scala audience. Juan Pons is a firm and commanding Schicchi, taking centrestage from his first entry.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“a triumph...three wonderfully directed and expertly acted productions. Add in Pappano's impeccable conducting and his valuable introductions to the pieces, and you have a nigh-on ideal Trittico.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012 *****

“In the theatre, Suor Angelica packed a stronger punch [than Il Tabarro]. Here, on DVD, it is little short of devastating...Jaho's youthful vulnerability is deeply moving...Gianni Schicchi is a wicked 1960s delight...Outstandingly filmed, this set marks a high point for live opera on DVD...I have no hesitation in making this new Trittico the top recommendation.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2012

“Pappano draws consistently fine playing from the orchestra...Gallo is in very good from as Michele...Westbroek gives her all in Giorgetta's contrasting scenes...Jaho dominates [Suor Angelica], of course, and in a role which she had never sung before...Gallo exhibits his facility for comic roles [in Schicchi]...One will have to look far to find a better trio of performances than these” International Record Review, September 2012

“Annabel Arden’s dark staging of Rachmaninov’s opera and her brilliantly funny view of Puccini’s comedy make for a perfect Glyndebourne evening. Sergei Leiferkus and Alessandro Corbelli are memorable in the respective title parts and Vladimir Jurowski is the superb conductor.” Sunday Times

“Alessandro Corbelli delivers a masterclass in how to extract every ounce of humour from comedy by playing it straight. He is the king of comedy and an international treasure.” The Stage

“A notably stellar cast in Puccini's black comedy 'Gianni Schicchi'” BBC Music Magazine, Proms Issue 2005

“Glyndebourne has a first-rate lyric comedian in Alessandro Corbelli and a conductor who handles the music with feeling for its tenderness as well as its brio. The lovers, Sally Matthews and Massimo Giordano, bring fresh voices and good looks, and among the mean old relatives Felicity Palmer's brazen-voiced Zita is a joy. Small parts like the Notary's assistants the boy who brings the news that Gianni is on his way are played with relish, and even the corpse of Buoso Donati comes to life as he falls out of the cupboard where he has been bestowed and takes a brisk curtain-call at the end.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2005

“Puccini's comic masterpiece comes in a production by Annabel Arden that determinedly underlines the black side of this sparkling farce...[Jurowski] also emphasizes that point...Corbelli proves a masterly Schicchi, at once characterful, funny and sinister” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition ***