Gianni Schicchi

The third part of Puccini’s Il Trittico (The Triptych), Gianni Schicchi was first heard at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on 14 December 1918. Set in Florence in 1299, the composer’s only comic opera concerns the concealment of a death—here, that of nobleman Buoso Donati, news of whose passing must be allayed so that his relatives can amend his will in their favour. This is carried out by Gianni Schicchi, the put-upon servant who ensures Donati’s property will be left to him with a dowry sufficient to enable his daughter Lauretta to marry into the family. Sardonic in its humour and fast in its pacing, the opera features Lauretta’s “O mio babbino caro” (O my beloved father), which ranks among Puccini’s most famous arias. Giuseppe De Luca created a title role sung by such baritones as Tito Gobbi and José Van Dam; Florence Easton created Lauretta, later sung by such sopranos as Renata Tebaldi and Angela Gheorghiu. About Puccini's Il Trittico Premiered in New York in 1918, Puccini’s last completed opera (Turandot was left unfinished at his death in 1924) is also the composer’s most ambitious—and unusual. Il Trittico (The Triptych) is, in fact, three one-act operas: a sequence the composer designed to be performed in a single evening. A plan to base each opera on one of the books of Dante’s The Divine Comedy was soon abandoned; only the comedy Gianni Schicchi retains this link. The sharply bladed satire of this elegant ensemble farce is set against the lyrical tragedy of Suor Angelica and the gritty social realism of Il tabarro.