Patricia Racette is the first soprano since Teresa Stratas 20 years ago to sing all three leading soprano roles in Puccini's Il Trittico at the Met. Comprised of three one-act operas, Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi, Il Trittico returns to the Met in the production by Jack O'Brien that was a popular and critical hit at its premiere in 2007. Racette sings Giorgetta in Il Tabarro, the title role in Suor Angelica, and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, a challenge last taken on at the Met in 1989. She is joined by Stephanie Blythe who repeats her much admired portrayals of Frugola in Il Tabarro, the Principessa in Suor Angelica, and Zita in Gianni Schicchi. Stefano Ranzani conducts in his Met debut, with Aleksandrs Antonenko as Luigi and Željko Lu?i? as Michele in Il Tabarro, Heidi Grant Murphy as Sister Genovieffa in Suor Angelica, Saimir Pirgu in his Met debut as Rinuccio, and Alessandro Corbelli in the title role in Gianni Schicchi. The set design is by Douglas W. Schmidt, Jess Goldstein created the costume designs, and the lighting designers are Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer. Performances run through December 12.
Il Trittico is the largest production in the Met's repertory, measured in the number of cargo containers necessary for its storage. At the new production premiere, the New York Times called it "grandly old-fashioned yet smart and effective," and observed that "Mr. O'Brien found his justification for the scenic grandeur in the text and music of each work."
The world premiere of Il Trittico took place at the Met in 1918, with a cast that included Claudia Muzio, Geraldine Farrar, and Florence Easton in the three leading soprano roles, and Giuseppe de Luca as Gianni Schicchi. Renata Scotto sang all three soprano roles in the 1975-76 and the 1981-82 seasons.
About the performers
Reviewing Patricia Racette's recent performance of the three leading soprano roles in Il Trittico, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, "Call it a trifecta, or a hat trick, or a triple whammy. Whatever the terminology, soprano Patricia Racette tackled all three soprano roles in Puccini's Il Trittico at the San Francisco Opera on Tuesday night and emerged triumphant." Last season at the Met the American soprano sang the title role in Anthony Minghella's production of Madama Butterfly, which was transmitted worldwide as part of The Met: Live in HD series. "In every dimension Ms. Racette's effort was exceptional; hers is a performance not to be missed," said the New York Times. Racette sang the role of Roberta Alden in the 2005 world premiere of Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy at the Met and was Ellen Orford in a new production of Peter Grimes in 2008, also shown live in HD. Since her 1995 Met debut as Musetta in La Bohème, Racette has sung Nedda in Pagliacci, Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites, Antonia and Stella in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Mimì in La Bohème, Elizabeth in Don Carlo, Alice Ford in Falstaff, and Violetta in La Traviata, which she sang in the 1998 new production premiere.
When Stephanie Blythe sang three roles in Il Trittico at the premiere of this production in 2007, the Associated Press said, "This phenomenal mezzo came close to stealing the show with her powerhouse vocalism and vivid acting." Musical America's 2009 "Vocalist of the Year" triumphed in two new roles at the Met last season: as Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice, which was transmitted live in HD, and as Ježibaba in Rusalka. This season, Blythe also sings Elgar's Sea Pictures with the MET Orchestra, conducted by James Levine in Carnegie Hall. A graduate of the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, she has appeared in two company premieres, as the Cleaning Woman in Janá?ek's The Makropoulos Case (1996) and as Eduige in Handel's Rodelinda (2004). Blythe has displayed enormous versatility at the Met, performing roles of such differing musical and dramatic styles as Quickly in Falstaff, Fricka in Die Walküre, Mother Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites, Jocasta in Oedipus Rex, Cornelia in Giulio Cesare, Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera, and Baba the Turk in The Rake's Progress.
Aleksandrs Antonenko makes his Met role debut as Luigi. When he made his company debut last season in Rusalka, the New York Times said: "A handsome, virile stage presence, Mr. Antonenko moved with a winning confidence and ease. His ardent lyricism and powerful sound marked him as a performer of considerable promise." He joined the chorus of the Latvian National Opera in 1997, and within months made his solo debut there as Oberto in Alcina. The Latvian tenor now sings with major companies around the world in such roles Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut (Stockholm's Royal Opera), Ghermann in The Queen of Spades (Vienna State Opera), Ismaele in Nabucco (Bavarian State Opera, Munich), the title role of Otello (Salzburg Festival), and Don José in Carmen (Dresden's Semperoper).
Željko Lu?i? makes his role debut as Michele in Il Tabarro. The Serbian baritone made his company debut as Barnaba in La Gioconda in 2006, and the following season performed the title role in a new production of Macbeth, which was seen worldwide live in HD, and is now available on DVD. Newsday wrote of his Macbeth, "Lu?i? sang with unfailing beauty at all levels of dynamics, from a tortured whisper to a confident, embracing full voice, his sound sometimes seeming to issue from a twilight world of anguish." Last season he played three more leading Verdi roles, appearing as Rigoletto, Germont in La Traviata, and Count di Luna in Il Trovatore.
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of her Met debut, Heidi Grant Murphy returns as Genovieffa in Suor Angelica, the role she performed at the production's 2007 premiere. She sang Amore in Orfeo ed Euridice at the new production premiere in 2007 and again last season when it was transmitted live in HD. An alumna of the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, she has sung more than 20 roles at the Met, among them Nannetta in Falstaff, Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, both Papagena and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Susanna and Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Servilia in La Clemenza di Tito, Sister Constance in Dialogues des Carmélites, and Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier.
Salvatore Licitra, who is also appearing this season as Radamès in Aida and Calàf in Turandot, reprises the role of Luigi in Il Tabarro, which he first sang in this production's 2007 premiere and in the live in HD transmission. The Italian tenor made a dramatic Met debut in 2002 as a last-minute replacement for Luciano Pavarotti, singing Cavaradossi in Tosca in a performance that was projected on a screen to a large crowd on the Lincoln Center Plaza. Licitra has also appeared at the Met as Don Alvaro in La Forza del Destino, Canio in Pagliacci, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, and Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera.
Saimir Pirgu makes his Met debut as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi. The young Albanian tenor appeared at the Santa Fe Opera for the first time this summer, as Alfredo in La Traviata. His engagements elsewhere this season include more performances of Alfredo (Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Maggio Musicale, Florence), Edgardo in a new production of Lucia di Lammermoor (Hamburg State Opera), and the title role in Idomeneo (Zurich Opera).
"The robust and stylish Italian baritone Alessandro Corbelli made an endearing and unflappable Schicchi," the New York Times said after the premiere of this production in 2007. From the time of his 2005 Met debut as Dandini in La Cenerentola, Corbelli has specialized in comic roles. Last season he returned to La Cenerentola, in the role of Don Magnifico. He has also appeared as Sergeant Sulpice in Laurent Pelly's new production of La Fille du Régiment (2007), which was transmitted live in HD, as Taddeo in L'Italiana in Algeri, and as Dr. Dulcamara in L'Elisir d'Amore.
Maestro Stefano Ranzani makes his Met debut conducting Il Trittico. A native of Milan, he was formerly a violinist in the orchestra at La Scala, but soon turned to a conducting career. His repertoire includes Fedora (Vienna State Opera), Lucia di Lammermoor (La Scala; Deutsche Oper, Berlin), Mefistofele (Palermo's Teatro Massimo), La Sonnambula (Vienna State Opera), Tosca (Bavarian State Opera, Munich), and Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci (Zurich Opera). This season Ranzani also appears for the first time with the Dallas Opera, conducting Don Pasquale.
