| Puccini - Il Trittico (Il Tabarro / Suor Angelica / Gianni Schicchi) / Gavazzeni, La Scala | 
| Director: Brian Large
Actors: Piero Cappuccilli, Nicola Martinucci, Sergio Bertocchi, Aldo Bramante, Sylvia Sass
Studio: Kultur Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $13.99
You Save: $16.00 (53%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (11 reviews)
Sales Rank: 57358
Format: Classical, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 161 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 2037
ISBN: 0769775942
UPC: 032031203792
EAN: 9780769775944
ASIN: B00019G8FG
Release Date: February 17, 2004
Theatrical Release Date: 1983
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
Three one-act operas by Giacomo Puccini: Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi. Recorded at the legendary Teatro alla Scala and starring Piero Cappuccilli, Rosalind Plowright, and Juan Pons.
Amazon.com
Puccini's trio of one-act operas is carefully balanced to contrast three moods: dark, violent jealousy in Il Tabarro, tearful sentimentality in Suor Angelica, and satirical wit in Gianni Schicchi. All three flavors are precisely conveyed by La Scala's carefully chosen cast, with finely nuanced conducting by Gianandrea Gavazzeni. This production is particularly treasurable because most companies today avoid presenting all three pieces together, and the interaction of contrasting motifs is part of what Puccini had in mind. Gianni Schicchi is deservedly the most popular, and La Scala fills the stage with vivid character performers to convey its full flavor. Juan Pons sings the title role with fine comic flair and rich, flexibly used tone. Sylvia Sass heads a small, expert cast in Il Tabarro, which could, however, have been more convincing in the murder scene. Suor Angelica is sweetly distraught, as it should be. --Joe McLellan
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 IL TRITTICO May 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a production from La Sacla in Milan. Puccini's music is always wonderful. The cast was well selected and the sets worked well. These are three one act operas that all deal with death and each one has its own drama. This was cought very well. The greatest drama is in SUOR ANGELICA and the soprano is outstanding. I recommend this if you are a Puccini fan.
 Academic at best April 29, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
These performances were way below what one would expect from La Scala. Though my least favorite of the Trittico was always 'Tabarro', it's the best one here as far as set, performances and direction. The three leads were all good, but the direction was adequate at best and besides, it's still the weakest of the trio and least performed for that reason.
Suor Angelica had a good orchestral performance, but that was it. I'd never seen Plowright live and based on this would avoid any performance she was in. The few high notes she did get (and they were few) were short and harsh as if she were a mezzo asked to hit a high C. The staging was grand but in an inappropriate way. It looked more like a stark palace than a cloistered convent. The ending was such a disappointment to me since I'd seen Scotto do this at the Met. Though I never liked the idea that the miracle is only seen by Angelica and not the audience, it requires an astounding performance to pull that off. Lastly the Gianni Schicci production gave me the sense that I was watching a production as staged by a 2nd rate Music College. Adequate, predictable, and limited. As if there were a bunch of musicians and theater people who got together to do something that they had never done before and, though talented, had no inspiration to do something special with it. It's as if they new it was a comedy, but had never seen one before.
There are a number of recordings out there and all are better than this.
If the current new production (2007) at the Met ever goes to DVD, I'd pay $100 for it without blinking an eye. There, a standard has been set.
Some of the best Trittico January 3, 2006
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
I wish ALL acts of Il Trittico were more popular and more availible, but I am glad that these productions exist in order to provide more accessibility to such a wonderful set of operas. This production has its flaws, but then again what production doesn't? Tabarro is my favorite opera; and althought Sylvia Sass is a rather poor actress and her diction is less than articulate, her voice is quite nice as Giorgetta. Martinucci as Luigi does an admirable job with an extremely difficult role, but the real gem of the production is Piero Cappuccilli. Throughout the production Cappuccilli not only delivers the appropriate emotions, but he also delivers some of the most beautiful and menacing singing. His ending plea to Giorgetta is amazing, and "Nulla, silenzio" is perhaps at the finest I have heard it. This is a wonderful production with Cappuccilli; and even though the acting is not the best at times and even though it COULD be better, this production is more than satisfactory...it is GREAT
Suor Angelica is wonderful, but Plowright was not meant for that role. Angelica needs to be light, agile, and able to sing the C's and D's which are MEANT to be sung. All in all this is a good production, but I would have liked to see a better Angelica.
Gianni Schicchi is, as others have said, good but not great. It is loud for most of the production, but the wonderful Juan Pons delivers a superb performance as Gianni. The other roles are satisfactory and the story gets across to the audience. Once again this could have been better, but I enjoyed what was performed.
All in all this really is a set of good performances which are highlighted by Cappuccilli and Pons. I would suggest this DVD to anyone interested in developing a love for Tabarro and for anyone wishing to see three good performance of Puccini's Il Trittico.
 YES and NO August 20, 2004
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
I have always loved this threesome, though I also consider Schicchi the weakest of all Puccini works. It is great to have it available to see as well as to listen to. After many years of singing opera for a living, I know that I may tend to be a little "jaded". So, as brief as possible: the singing in these performances is really quite good and I will not try to compare with so many better on audio only! That said: The real drawback of this is the staging and acting - did I say act and opera in the same sentence? Tabarro goes along fine until the "murder and revelation". It makes "opera" look as stilted as we know it can be. I know only too well how difficult it is to sing high C and attempt to act, but this was filmed. Sour Angelica - beautifully sung, even if Plowright has a "different" voice for this role and lacks the top notes requied. I simply do not know what that visual ending was suppose to be. I watched this DVD, for the first time, with a novice who had gotten the full build-up from me: only to be befuddled at the end. Sometimes I think that the old fashioned ,statue turns revealing "live" Madonna and a child, is better, not high tech, but effective. This DVD is worth buying because it is the only way to hear and see these works that no longer seem to be in favor and to show others that there is more to the Trittico than just "O mia Babino caro"!
Only Suor Angelica August 19, 2004
7 out of 18 found this review helpful
I've had recordings of these operas (first on LP, now on CD, never mind the singers) for many years. I loved Tabarro (on CD), kind of liked Angelica and always hated the music but loved the story of Schicchi. Seeing them performed, I could tell I was in the hands of a master (Puccini), but I didn't like them anyway. The one I preferred and with reservations was Angelica, I thought everyone did an excellent job (note: the princess looked as grim during her curtain calls as she did during her performance!), but I greatly disliked the special effects ending and if I hadn't already known the story, I doubt I would have understood it, did the audience at La Scala see what I did? Tabarro was terrible, the beautiful music didn't start until the lovers got together, the first half hour or so was extraneous filler and not much fun to listen to (however I was tired and kept dozing off, so maybe I should give it a second chance). Schicchi, which has both the best (yup, that famous tune, which is the best tune in the entire three hours) and the worst music of the three, was played nonsensically, like the horseplay of the three non-dancing step-sisters in Prokofiev's Cinderella. It was comical and the dialogue was absurd, but the whole thing was done as a total farce and I think the story is more sophisticated than all that. Although I didn't think much of the whole thing, I did enjoy Angelica very much (I'm an Atheist and thought the rules and beliefs of these people were silly and (consider the plot) crippling), I thought the music this time through was more beautiful than I've ever heard it. Of course I loved the river theme in Tabarro, and like I said, once the story started, Puccini came into his own. Finally (since I seem to be trashing the whole thing anyway, and I do wish I could get my money back on this DVD), I thought the acting in all three operas was very mediocre and watery. By the way, Puccini is quoted as saying sometime around the opening of this show, "I was bored, and I'm the author." I watched one opera a day and did not get bored.
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