Puccini’s Il Trittico: a journey into the deepest recesses of the human soul and intellect.
by Mary Jane Cryons
Returning to Jesi, where I attended last season’s premiere of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, was particularly meaningful this year. The magnificent Teatro G.B. Pergolesi, inaugurated in 1798, has recently gained international recognition through its inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the network of historic Italian-style theaters in central Italy.
In this extraordinary historical setting, presenting the complete Il Trittico by Puccini seemed a particularly fitting way to celebrate the theater's enduring artistic vitality.
Staging Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi in a single evening is no small feat. The three operas inhabit vastly different dramatic and musical worlds, demanding contrasting vocal personalities, orchestral colors, and theatrical styles. What unites them is Puccini’s extraordinary ability to explore the most intimate human emotions through music of remarkable psychological depth.
The production, directed by Paul-Émile Fourny, with set design and lighting by Patrick Méeüs and costumes by Giovanna Fiorentini, provided an effective and cohesive theatrical framework for these three contrasting stories.
Massimo Cavalletti brought remarkable theatrical authority and profound insight to both roles; as Michele, he emphasized the character's inner suffering rather than relying solely on outward displays of jealousy and anger, while showcasing a brilliant range of vocal colors in his portrayal of Gianni Schicchi. Cavalletti’s international experience was evident in his stage presence and his ability to convey the psychological complexity of the roles in perfect harmony with Puccini’s dramaturgy.
Alessandra Di Giorgio, as Giorgetta, delivered a compelling portrayal of a woman trapped between resignation and a desperate longing for a different life. Her voice proved particularly effective in Puccini’s intensely dramatic writing, blending power with expressive sensitivity. The character’s yearning for freedom and escape emerged naturally, making Giorgetta the opera's emotional heart.
After such a remarkable performance in Il Tabarro, however, her interpretation of Suor Angelica fell into the trap of excessive theatricality; this often led to forced pacing and awkward moments for the orchestra and conductor, both focused on supporting her diligently, although her chosen slow tempi clashed with the natural flow of the magnificent music.
Giulio Pelligra faced the particularly interesting challenge of singing two very different tenor roles, beginning with his role debut as Luigi in Il Tabarro. Known primarily for his work in the bel canto and Verdi repertoire, he approached Luigi with a convincing combination of lyricism, passion, and dramatic commitment, suggesting that Puccini may represent an important direction for his repertoire. As Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, the voice moved into a brighter, more naturally lyrical territory; Firenze è come un albero fiorito displayed youthful energy, elegance, and freedom of phrasing. Together, the two roles showed an artist capable of moving convincingly from Luigi’s darker dramatic urgency to Rinuccio’s exuberance and lyricism.
A more than good debut also for Arlene Miatto Albeldas, who demonstrated her versatility across two sharply contrasting character roles. As the Princess in Suor Angelica, she brought an appropriately severe, emotionally distant presence to one of Puccini’s most unsettling confrontations, providing an effective dramatic counterweight to Angelica’s vulnerability. As Zita in Gianni Schicchi, she entered an entirely different theatrical language, contributing strongly to the comic ensemble and demonstrating a keen sense of characterization.
Also worthy of positive notes was the performance of Francesca Maionchi, as Suor Genovieffa and Lauretta, who brought freshness, warmth, and an attractive vocal personality to relatively small roles. She combined youthful stage presence with an appealing lyrical quality. Her "O mio babbino caro" was most effective for its simplicity and spontaneity, resisting the temptation to overstate one of Puccini’s most familiar arias and allowing the natural beauty of the melodic line to speak for itself.
Riccardo Liberatore, as Tinca and Gherardo, is also worth a special mention. He proved one of the evening’s most interesting discoveries, giving the audience an impact beyond the roles themselves, thanks to the quality of his voice, natural musicality, and instinctive stage presence, which suggest an artist of considerable promise. At the center of the evening was Maestro Stefano Vignati, conducting the FORM – Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana.
Conducting Il Trittico means considerably more than accompanying three operas consecutively. Within the space of a single evening, the conductor must create three distinct musical universes while preserving the unmistakable identity of Puccini’s orchestral language.
Vignati clearly understood these contrasts and, above all, knew how to shape the orchestra around the voices and the drama.
From Il Tabarro, in which he drew darker colors and sustained the underlying tension of a score in which the orchestra frequently reveals what the characters themselves cannot express, to Suor Angelica, where his choice of sound became more transparent and delicate, allowing Puccini’s long phrases to breathe while gradually building the emotional intensity of the final pages, until Gianni Schicchi, Vignati changed character once again, bringing greater rhythmic vitality, precision and theatrical momentum to the score.
The FORM Orchestra, confidently guided by Vignati, mostly responded with good flexibility to the considerable challenge of moving between Puccini’s three very different musical worlds.
The Pergolesi's Artistic management chose Ettore Panizza’s reduced orchestration, particularly appropriate to the more intimate dimensions of the Teatro Pergolesi’s orchestra pit. Yet Vignati never allowed the reduced forces to diminish the richness or expressive depth of Puccini’s musical language.
Last but not least, the Coro Ventidio Basso, prepared by Pasquale Veleno, contributed effectively to the production’s overall musical framework.
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