Rather like his great
predecessor, Verdi, Puccini’s last completed
operatic work (he died during the composition
of Turandot leaving it incomplete)
was a comic opera. Gianni Schicchi was
the last of three one act works that
comprise ‘Il Trittico’. They were intended
by the composer for performance together.
The three operas received their premiere
at the Metropolitan Opera, New York,
on December 18th 1918. Later,
to Puccini’s chagrin, the operas, particularly
Gianni Schicci, were often performed
separately, often in conjunction with
a short opera by another composer.
The story of Gianni
Schicchi is set in medieval Florence.
Buoso has died leaving his property,
in a will, to a nearby Monastery. His
relatives contrive to have a new will
drawn up with Gianni Schicchi impersonating
the dead man. At first, offended by
the attitude towards him of some of
Buoso’s relatives, Schicchi refuses
(tr. 7). He is only persuaded by his
daughter Lauretta in the famous, but
brief, aria ‘O mio babbino caro’ (tr.
8) as she has an interest in marrying
the dead man’s nephew Rinuccio. Schicchi
first warns everybody of the dire consequences
to all if the deception is discovered
(tr. 13) and a notary is summoned. The
relatives dress Schicchi in Buoso’s
nightgown and nightcap, each quietly
trying to bribe him if he favours them.
The notary arrives and Schicchi, disguising
his voice to sound like Buoso, dictates
a will leaving all the dead man’s property
to himself (tr. 14). The relatives are
incensed but powerless, out of fear
of discovery of the deception. On the
notary’s departure they berate Schicchi
and grab what they can (tr. 15). At
the conclusion Gianni Schicchi gives
the house to the two young lovers, Lauretta
and Rinuccio, and as they embrace sings
‘Could there be a better ending than
this’.
The compositional style
of the opera is utterly different to
Tosca, Bohème and Butterfly with
their set-piece arias and duets etc.
It is altogether more seamless with
a lot of interplay going on at the same
time among the relatives. Without tight
control it can all sound more like a
jangling cacophony than an opera. In
his taut musical control of the proceedings
Rahbari is really excellent. He never
lets the orchestra get too loud, keeping
good co-ordination between stage and
pit whilst exacting pinpoint articulation
all round. An open and airy acoustic
and good balance help the performance
come over with appropriate verve. Of
the singers, the young lovers are excellent
with Tatiana Lisnic as Lauretta shaping
her aria with graceful phrasing and
concluding it ever so softly. It comes
over as part of an opera not a mere
showpiece (tr. 8). Stafano Secco as
Rinuccio fields an ardent, secure, lyric
tenor voice with a nice touch of Italianate
‘squilla’ to his tone (tr. 6). As Gianni
Schicchi, the veteran Alberto Rinaldi
who debuted at La Scala in 1966, is
variable. He characterises well but
shows some signs of wear and spread
in the upper voice (tr. 11) and lacks
an ideally steady legato. The relatives
are a reliable bunch vocally except
for some discernable wobble from Sara
Galli as Nella (tr. 12). Antonio Torres
singing the small parts of Pinellino
and Guccio, is a voice to look out for
(end of tr. 15).
A measure of lively
ensemble interplay comes through quite
clearly and is a major part of the success
of the enterprise. It perhaps indicates
that the recording was made in association
with a series of live performances.
Together with the fine modern sound
and bargain price this makes for a very
appealing disc. Tito Gobbi’s outstanding
first recording of Schicchi (EMI) is
now sonically rather dated, whilst on
his second (Sony) his tone is somewhat
thin; further Maazel’s conducting is
not particularly idiomatic. The RCA
recording with Panerai is a good all-round
performance but, to my ears, not very
Italianate, a strength here. The booklet
has a good background note, an excellent
track-related synopsis and artist profiles,
in English and German. There is a full
libretto without translation.
Robert J Farr
see also review
by Robert McKechnie
Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra/Alexander Rahbari
