Gianni Schicchi – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Gianni Schicchi is one part of Il trittico, a collection of three one-act operas by Giacomo Puccini, with the link in the final work illustrating that each opera deals with the concealment of a death. Whilst originally intended to be played as a set, it has been more usual to play individually or pair with another one-act opera by another composer. Here, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Dominic Hindoyan, serve up a further variation with excerpts from different composers providing the warm-up in the first half before the comic deception of Gianni Schicchi, performed in Italian with English surtitles, is unleashed.

Commencing proceedings were a couple of Puccini pairings with La Tregenda (Le Villi, Act II) making for an energetic and frenetic start before slipping into a gentler and more thoughtful Intermezzo (Manon Lescaut, Act III).

Switching to Mascagni, the rigid intensity and brooding of Intermezzo sinfonico (L’amico Fritz) added some richness before its powerful finish gave way to the softer and emotive flows of Intermezzo (Cavalleria Rusticana) which was enough to bring a tear to the eye.

Finally, we were treated to a joyful rendition of Ponchielli’s ever playful Dance of the Hours (La Gioconda) whose powerful race to the finish was to close the opening half.

All five pieces were a delight to behold illustrating the skill and dexterity of the orchestra under the direction of Hindoyan and made that extra special by their obvious pleasure in the playing.

Gianni Schicchi is a black comedy ensemble piece based on one part of Dante’s Divine Comedy and set in Florence. The venue does not allow for a full operatic staging and in other venues it has sometimes proven to be a little flat as the singers are restricted to a single line at the front of the stage. It was clear from the off that this was not going to be the case here as the singers drawn from the European Opera Centre went straight into an entertaining comic mime routine as they appeared in turn as the greedy and conniving relatives (Indyana Schneider, Matteo Roma, Robert Forrest, Aimée Fisk, Dominik Drabik, Jamie Gilchrist, Matteo Loi, Felipe Cudina, Stefano Marchisio, Céline Akçağ) of the recently deceased Buoso Donati. Their discovery that he appears to have left them nothing cues the arrival of the roguish Gianni Schicchi (Bryn Terfel) whose daughter Lauretta (Anaïs Constans) hopes to marry Rinuccio (Roma), although his bossy aunt Zita (a superb Schneider) and the other family members determine to foil their romance when other characters including a doctor (Jacobo Ochoa), a notary (Emmanuel Franco), and two witnesses (Patrick Keefe, Dionysios Avgerinos) enter the fray. But, as the saying goes, where there’s a will there’s a way…

The whole ensemble delivered fantastic performances with Constans comfortably filling the shoes of great sopranos that have gone before her with her beautiful rendition of ‘O mio babbino caro’, as well as combining perfectly with Roma for their duets. What stood out overall was the ease of all the performers on stage – musicians and singers alike – as they clearly revelled in this production. Hindoyan dealt superbly with the added challenge of having the singers behind him but the cues and chemistry between them ensured all was in order. I last saw Terfel in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer at the Wiener Staatsoper in November 2021 on the eve of Austria going into its second lockdown: he was a delight then and was even more of a delight now with his all-round performance including the amusingly clever encouragement of the deserved applause at the end, from which it is safe to conclude that Bernard Rozet’s dramatisation and stagecraft delivered paradise.

Reviewer: Mark Davoren

Reviewed: 12th March 2023

North West End UK Rating: ★★★★★