Fondazione Teatri di Piacenza / Atsiliepimai

With the cheerful third from Giacomo Puccini's Trittico , the Teatro Municipale di Piacenza started the Dante Alighieri anniversary year, which will be celebrated in 2021 on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the poet's death. Since the character of Gianni Schicchi can be found in the Divine Comedy in the eighth circle of hell, Renato Bonajuto's production initially featured an actor who recited Dante's verses. Unfortunately, that prologue ended up being unintentionally funny, with Mino Manni appearing as if he were hosting an episode of the '90s series X Factor: The Unbelievable ; This impression was reinforced by the direction of the images, which, with blazing flames and a gloomy mood, left no cliché untouched. <i>Gianni Schicchi</i> © Teatro Municipale di Piacenza Gianni Schicchi © Teatro Municipale di Piacenza In terms of scenery, the entire evening remained on the irrelevant side: the greedy heirs intrigued in a bedroom furnished with dark wood (which could have been a little better lit for the live stream broadcast). The singers threw themselves into their task in a playful way, but the director seemed to have had few ideas in terms of directing the characters, because most of the characters remained pale. <i>Gianni Schicchi</i> © Teatro Municipale di Piacenza Gianni Schicchi © Teatro Municipale di Piacenza From a musical point of view, the evening was much more successful, because the cast came up with some very beautiful voices: In the title role, Roberto de Candia needed a few minutes for his baritone to reach operating temperature, but then the warm-timbred voice flowed through the audience with grace and a wink lot. His portrayal of the witty prole in the midst of Buoso Donati's deceitful, wealthy relatives also offered some entertaining moments. Giuliana Gianfaldoni remained unobtrusive as Lauretta, but the soprano vocally attracted attention without any problems. The voice has an interesting timbre - namely darker and richer than is often heard in singers of this role - and is elegantly conducted. She designed the hit "O mio babbino caro" with restraint, Giuliana Gianfaldoni (Lauretta) und Matteo Desole (Rinuccio) © Teatro Municipale di Piacenza Giuliana Gianfaldoni (Lauretta) and Matteo Desole (Rinuccio) © Teatro Municipale di Piacenza Matteo Desole, who equipped Rinuccio with a radiant tenor, has an Italian timbre that is as it should be. Its only shortcoming was the tendency to forte in the high register, a little quieter tones here and there would have been beneficial to a more differentiated design. As Zita, Valeria Tornatore convinced with a dramatic aplomb, beautiful phrasing and the darkly shimmering timbre of her mezzo-soprano, while she perfectly summed up the devious and bitchy facets of the character in both the vocal and the acting form. The many other small roles were consistently well cast; in the numerous ensemble scenes, the voices combined well and the coordination between the singers worked flawlessly. Roberto de Candia (Gianni Schicchi) © Teatro Municipale di Piacenza Roberto de Candia (Gianni Schicchi) © Teatro Municipale di Piacenza On the other hand, a problem undoubtedly due to the transmission technology was the lack of balance between singers and orchestra. The positioning of the microphones did not seem to have been chosen ideally, because depending on the position of the actors on the stage, the singing voices came to the fore so prominently that the orchestra almost drowned and the sound became more of a conflict than a togetherness. However, when the Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana, conducted by Massimiliano Stefanelli, could be heard well, one could enjoy a highly motivated orchestra, which elegantly and differentiated both the corny and the modern-pointing passages. The orchestra had its strongest moments in the kitschy outbursts, which it endowed with voluptuous pathos and pure Italianità, as in the final declarations of love by Lauretta and Rinuccio. The circle to the prologue of the production finally came full circle with Gianni Schicchi's departure, for whom hell was waiting directly behind the bedroom door.