In 1918, Giacomo Puccini introduced Il Trittico (The Triptych), a collection of three one-act operas including Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. This week in Minneapolis you can see two of the three, with innovative productions.
Suor Angelica (Sister Angelica) is set in the cloisters of a 17th-century nunnery near Florence. So why not perform it in a spectacular cathedral? That’s precisely the sort of challenge David Lefkowich loves. As the artistic director of Out of the Box Opera, Lefkowich is the person who has staged operas in the Mill City Ruins Courtyard, a boxing gym and a hotel lobby. But he’s never done anything like Suor Angelica at the Basilica of St. Mary. No one has, because the basilica has never allowed an opera on its site before! It promises to be an immersive experience. Singers and full orchestra perform in three different spaces in the basilica, and the audience moves with them through the performance, ending in the soaring nave.
The music is soaring too, as I learned in an intimate studio session with Lefkowich and soprano Alexandra Loutsian, who sings the title role. Listen to our session using the player above.
Gianni Schicchi is the essence of operatic romantic comedy, and a new adaptation called Johnny Skeeky gets a phonetic spelling, and a hilarious but “true to the source” adaptation at Theater Latte Da. It was adapted by two of the smartest people in the Twin Cities theater scene, Bradley Greenwald and Stephen Epp, with some of the best singers in town. Check out the preview video, too. It runs through July 7.
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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment‘s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
