Der Ehevertrag | Gianni Schicchi by Rossini, Puccini, Mon 12 Aug 2024, From (2024/2024), Directed by Brigitte Fassbaender, Conductor Claire Levacher, Theater am Kornmarkt, Bregenz, Austria

Gioachino Rossini’s opera La cambiale di matrimonio (The Marriage Contract), which was his first publicly played opera, and the one-act opera Gianni Schicchi from Giacomo Puccini’s Il trittico are separated by more than 100 years. Still, both works share a sense of ironic slapstick comedy and witty onomatopoetic effects. This funny yet unusual combination is staged by the Grande Dame of the opera world, Kammersängerin Brigitte Fassbaender, and the young talents of the Opera Studio. And for the first time, Leo McFall, the principal conductor of the Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg, conducts an opera production at the Bregenzer Festspiele. In The Marriage Contract, businessman Tobia Mill wants to sell off his daughter Fannì to the Canadian businessman Slook: She comes from a good home, is not older than 30 years, of a flawless character and in good health. Perfect for the journey to Canada. Fannì, however, is in love with penniless Edoardo. After striking a few turbulences, Slook eventually names Edoardo his sole heir – and then even her grumpy father agrees to the marriage. Gianni Schicchi takes up on the topic of inheritance; with this opera, Puccini created a unique satire about heir hunting. After they have been disinherited, the bereaved gather around the deathbed of the prosperous Patrician Buoso Donati, displaying superficial sympathy. They grumble about the surfaced testament and are eventually tricked by Gianni Schicci, who passes himself off as Donati in front of the notary and allocates the fortune among the greedy relatives. The most valuable properties, however, he leaves to himself.