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[Met Performance] CID:247060



Il Trittico
Il Tabarro
Suor Angelica
Gianni Schicchi
Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, October 15, 1976

Debut : Hildegard Behrens, Gianfranco Cecchele, Josella Ligi, Neil Shicoff







Puccini-Forzano
Il Trittico received ten performances this season.

Review 1:

Review of Bill Zakariasen in the Daily News

A triple slice of life

Puccini's triple slice of life life, "Il Trittico," returned to the Met Opera Friday with a new conductor and no less than ten changes of cast, four of which were debuts.

James Levine's conducting was good average for him these days - meaning there was plenty of energy (sometimes too much so), a nagging tendency to drown out the singers, but a constant awareness of the drama in the three contrasting one-act operas "Il Tabarro," "Suor Angelica" and "Gianni Schicchi." He was at his best in the final score, savoring its scintillating humor with some pointed orchestral accents.

The debuting singers did best in "Schicchi" as well. Josella Ligi, known n Europe as a dramatic soprano, unaccountably was assigned the ingénue Lauretta, but her creamy voice rejoiced in that deceptively simple arietta "O mio babbino caro." Neil Shicoff, a most photogenic young tenor, showed as Rinuccio a prodigiously equipped voice with a ringing top and even scale.

In "Tabarro," German soprano Hildegard Behrens got off to a rocky start as Giorgetta, but later on managed to smooth out much of her singing. Proper assessment of her talents will have to wait, but she has physical beauty, good stage presence and the sheer size of her voice commands attention. Gianfranco Cecchele (Luigi) conversely didn't sound nearly large enough, despite his tonal resemblance to Mario del Monaco.

Veterans Italo Tajo and Fedora Barbieri were superbly cast - in character parts, particularly Barbieri as the princess in "Suor Angelica" - an interpretation of immense authority and presence. Tajo, once the greatest of all Schicchis, is now fully as great as the doddering Simone.

'Teresa Zylis-Gara sang Suor Angelica beautifully, but regrettably did little else - it takes more than lovely vocalism to make the treacle in this score palatable. Cornell MacNeil has vastly improved as Schicchi and "Tabarro's" Michele - he was a tower of menacing strength 'in the latter and of hilarity in the former. He was, moreover, in prime vocal condition, which means he outsang any other living, baritone.

Photograph of Hildegard Behrens as Giorgetta in Il Tabarro by James Heffernan/Metropolitan Opera.

Search by season: 1976-77

Search by title: Il Trittico, Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi,



Met careers

• James Levine [Conductor]
• Hildegard Behrens [Giorgetta]
• Gianfranco Cecchele [Luigi]
• Cornell MacNeil [Michele]
• Jean Kraft [Frugola]
• Italo Tajo [Talpa]
• Charles Anthony [Tinca]
• Jon Garrison [Song Seller]
• Betsy Norden [Lover]
• John Carpenter [Lover]
• Fabrizio Melano [Production]
• David Reppa [Designer]
• Teresa Zylis-Gara [Angelica]
• Fedora Barbieri [Princess]
• Betsy Norden [Genovieffa]
• Linore Aronson [Osmina]
• Ann Florio [Dolcina]
• Shirley Love [Monitor]
• Jean Kraft [Abbess]
• Batyah Godfrey Ben-David [Mistress of Novices]
• Cynthia Munzer [Nurse]
• Maureen Smith [Lay Sister]
• Dina De Salvo [Lay Sister]
• Linda Mays [Novice]
• Barbara Bystrom [Novice]
• Alma Jean Smith [Alms Collector]
• Elena Doria [Alms Collector]
• Cornell MacNeil [Gianni Schicchi]
• Josella Ligi [Lauretta]
• Neil Shicoff [Rinuccio]
• Betsy Norden [Nella]
• Shirley Love [Ciesca]
• Fedora Barbieri [Zita]
• Charles Anthony [Gherardo]
• Russell Christopher [Betto]
• Gene Boucher [Marco]
• Italo Tajo [Simone]
• Lawrence Klein [Gherardino]
• Edmond Karlsrud [Spinelloccio]
• Andrij Dobriansky [Amantio]
• Herman Marcus [Pinellino]
• Peter Sliker [Guccio]
• Terry Allen [Buoso Donati]