Fri, Mar. 31, 2023, 6.30 pm – 10.15 pm | Main Stage

Giacomo Puccini

Il trittico

Introduction at 5.50 pm

Three stories that could not be more different: A comedy of inheritance in 13th century Florence, borrowed from Dante’s Divine Comedy, a drama of jealousy in the Parisian petty bourgeoisie and finally the tragedy of a young woman who is betrayed for her life and her child. Despite all the contrasts, the three works revolve around the eternal questions of love, truth and the chance of a self-determined life. For many years, Puccini was unable to push through the plan of a musical triptych against the resistance of his publisher Giulio Ricordi, and it was only after Ricordi’s death that the composer dared the experiment of combining three one-act operas into one opera evening; the desire for novelty also characterises the music. Ship sirens, motor horns and an out-of-tune barrel organ are atmospherically combined in Il tabarro. Dissonances and contemporary dance rhythms creep into Gianni Schicchi. Suor Angelica is characterised exclusively by women’s voices – this was long considered a drawback of this opera and seems even more groundbreaking to us today. The story of a young mother driven to suicide by the close-minded morality of her bigoted family forms the finale in our new production. Il trittico is Puccini’s last completed work, a dramaturgical experiment that stands on the threshold of musical modernity.

Musical direction: Giampaolo Bisanti/
Leonardo Sini (21 March)
Production: Axel Ranisch
Stage and video: Falko Herold
Costumes: Alfred Mayerhofer
Lighting: Michael Bauer
Dramaturgy: Ralf Waldschmidt
Choir: Eberhard Friedrich
Children’s and youth choir: Luiz de Godoy

in Italian with German and English surtitles
Supported by Twerenbold-Reisen AG and the Foundation for the Promotion of the Hamburg State Opera