Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Two one-act operas by Giacomo Puccini open the new year at Ithaca College's Dillingham Center.  'Suor Angelica' and 'Gianni Schicchi' will be performed at 8 p.m. on Feb. 20, 22, 26, 28, and March 2. A 2 p.m matinee will be offered on Sunday, Feb. 24, with a talk-back led by conductor and music director Brian DeMaris immediately following the performance.

Written in 1918, Puccini’s 'Suor Angelica' and 'Gianni Schicchi' belong to the composer’s 'Il Trittico' (The Triptych) series of three one-act operas. 'Suor Angelica' explores the dark past of Sister Angelica in 17th- century Siena. When a grand coach arrives outside of the convent, Angelica’s reasons for joining the religious order are exposed and lead to her final desperate act.

"It's a joy because of the strong choral traditions in our School of Music," says DeMaris. "But what's dramatically interesting is that when the miracle occurs at the end of 'Suor Angelica,' Puccini also adds men's voices."

'Gianni Schicchi,' a farcical tale based on an incident in Dante’s 'Divine Comedy', begins in Florence with the final days of Buoso Donati, a wealthy and deeply religious man. When his ill-willed brother-in-law mentions that Buoso plans to give all his fortune to a monastery, his family searches frantically for the will. As his family members struggle for the remnants of Buoso’s fortune, Gianni Schicchi makes the scene. The true motives of Buoso’s family are soon revealed, for better or for worse, and this comedy of misconceptions unfolds.


"Though Puccini had originally set out to write three operas based on excerpts from Dante's ‘Divine Comedy,’ ‘Gianni Schicchi’ is the only one that ultimately retained any connection," says DeMaris.  "Instead, the three works are unified mainly in that each involves death. In ‘Schicchi’ the death is comic. Musically, each opera stands on its own. Puccini intended for them to be performed together, but they are most often performed on their own or even paired with other one-act operas by other composers."

This production features two one-acts with one intermission. David Lefkowich is the director; Brian DeMaris the conductor and music director. Gregory Robbins, associate professor of theatre arts, designed the costumes. Other designers include Renny Cullen ’13 and Heather Huang ’13 (scenic) and Michael Lonuzzi ’13 and Maxwell Robin ‘14 (lighting). Stage managers are Benjamin Shipley ’13 and Miriam Salzman ’13. William Burns ’13 is the technical director. Assistants include graduate student Patrick Valentino M.M.’13 (conducting), Lydia Kubiniec ’13 and Sara Stevens ’13 (directing), and Ashlynn Abraham ’15 and Emmanuel Garcia ’15 (assistant costume design.)

The all-female cast of 'Suor Angelica' features Wenhui Xu ’13, Zohaniris Torres Rosado ’13, Kimberly Hawley ’13, Jenna Fishback ’13, Rachel Ozols ’15, Shaylyn Gibson ’13, Emily DeMarzio ’13, Michelle Cosentino ’13, Kailey Pulos ’13, Rachel Mikol ’13, Meghan Kelly ’13, Janine Colletti ’13, Jaime Guyon ’13, Elizabeth Calabro ’13, Alexandra Haines ’13, Adiza Jibril ’13, and Melissa Daneke ’13.

Performing in 'Gianni Schicchi' are Michael Lewis ’13, Nicholas Harmantzis ’13, Megan Ort ’13, Eric Flyte ’14, Mengchun Yang ’13, Ryan Zettlemoyer ’13, Stephen Wilkins ’13, David Klodowski ’14, Chris D’Amico ’14, Brett Pond ’14, Jennifer Giustino ’14, Travis Pilsits ’13, Frederick Diengott ’15, and Adam Zimmer ’13.

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