Gianni Schicchi

Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) and librettist Giovacchino Forzano.

The original text

The action in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi takes place in Donati’s bedroom immediately after his death, as his greedy relatives feign grief and search for his will. The mood shifts to anger when the relatives discover that they have been disinherited. They seek out the clever and resourceful Schicchi to make a counterfeit will. Schicchi, however, turns their scheme against them, bequeathing most of the dead man’s fortune to himself while the relatives, all parties to the crime of forgery, are forced to sit by silently.

The opera premiered at New York’s Metropolitan Opera on December 14, 1918.

Translations and adaptations

An Afrikaans translation by Gideon Roos performed by PACT Opera in 1970.

Performance history in South Africa

1953: Presented by the South African College of Music together with the Rhodesian Music Societies and the UCT Opera Company on a tour of Southern Rhodesia between 4 and 21 February 1953 in four towns: Umtali, Salisbury, Gwelo and Bulawayo. With Nellie du Toit, Noreen Berry, Jeanette Schatz, Ernest Dennis. Produced by Gregorio Fiasconaro and conducted by Erik Chisholm.

1958: Presented in English by the South African Opera Federation.

1970: Presented in Afrikaans in a douple bill with Il Tabarro at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre by PACT Opera. Conductor - Leo Quayle; Director/producer - Victor Melleney; Design - Graham Brown. Cast: Gianni Schicchi - Dawie Couzyn; Lauretta - Leonore Veenemans; Zita - Stella Beder; Rinuccio - John Zaverdino; Gherardo - George Kok; Nella - Barbara Veenemans; Betto di Signa - Ken Anderson; Simone - Øystein Liltved; Marco - Xander Haagen; La Ciesca - Marita Knobel; Spinelloccio - Bruce Anderson; Amantio di Nicolaio - Ian Donald; Pinnellino - Harold Kok; Guccio - Sameul Kock.

1973: Presented by CAPAB Opera.

1978: Presented by CAPAB Opera.

1986: Presented by CAPAB Opera in a double bill with Cavalleria Rusticana (9–27 May)

2000: Presented by Cape Town Opera in a double bill with Suor Angelica (21–26 August)

2005: Presented in the Drama at the State Theatre by Black Tie Ensemble in a double bill with a reduced version of Il Barbiere di Siviglia (April 2005). Conductor - Graham Scott; Director - Leonard Prinsloo; Assistant director - Vanessa Nicolau; Décor - Colin O'Mara Davis; Costumes co-ordinator - Bronwen Lovegrove; Lighting - Declan Randall; Repetitors - Susan Steenkamp-Swanepoel and Engeli le Roux; Barber script - Leonard Prinsloo; Stage manager - Eugéne Prinsloo; Orchestra - Johannesburg Music Initiative; Concert master - Irene Tsoniff. With the following cast: Michael Dungel, Zanele Gumede, Rheinaldt Moagi, Raymond Tyack, Loveline Madumo, Delsy Mooki, Dikgang Mantoro, Paul Madibeng, Thabang Senekal, Teresa de Wit, Linda Zitha, Bongiwe Madlala, Obakeng Molepe, Jonathan Boinamo and Itumeleng Tladi.

2005: Presented by Cape Town Opera in a double bill with Cavalleria Rusticana (18–27 November)

2011: Presented by Cape Town Opera in a double bill with Suor Angelica (16–21 April)

2011: Presented by Black Tie Ensemble in a double bill with Cavalleria Rusticana in the South African State Theatre, Drama Theatre. Production sponsored by The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF). Conductor - Phillip Pointner, Director - Marcus Desando, Lighting designer - Faheem Bardien, Set designer - Nadine van Aswegen, Repetitors - Susan Steenkamp-Swanepoel and Willem Luitingh, Costume designer of Cavalleria Rusticana - Bruno Santini, Costume designer of Gianni Schicchi - Arnold Cloete and Marcus Desando. Costumes co-ordinator - Bronwen Lovegrove, Technical coordinator - Vanessa Nicolau, Stage manager - Leigh-Anne Nanguia, with the Black Tie Orchestra and the Black Tie Opera Chorus. Cast: Henry Fondo (Buoso Donati), Thabang Senekal (Gianni Schichhi), Caroline Nkwe/Caroline Modiba (Lauretta), Fikile Mthetwa (Zita), Tshepang Wolf (Rinuccio), Bongani Makhanya (Gherardo), Nomsa Mbatha (Nella), Donovan Linde (Gherardino), Martin Mkhize (Betto di Signa), Ebenezer Sawuli/Mziyanda Zitha (Simone), Elias Moss (Marco), Kathy Neuland (La Ciesca), Lesego Moatshe (Maestro Spinelloccio), Dikgang Mantoro (Ser Amantio di Nicolao), Kagiso Boroko (Pinellino), Henry Fondo (Guccio) (on 28 September, 30 September, 2 October, 12 October, 14 October and 16 October).

2024: Presented by Cape Town Opera in a double bill with Suor Angelica (14–17 February), directed by Magdalene Minnaar, with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jeremy Silver, with lighting design by Faheem Bardien, movement direction by Fiona du Plooy and set and costume design by Allegra Bernacchioni. With Conroy Scott in the title role. The cast included CTO’s Judith Neilson Young Artists Dineo Bokala as Lauretta, Julia Portela Piñón as Zita and Lonwabo Mose as Simone.

Sources

Wayne Muller. 2018. A reception history of opera in Cape Town: Tracing the development of a distinctly South African operatic aesthetic (1985–2015). Unpublished PhD thesis.

Cantoni, Linda and Schwarm, Betsy. "Gianni Schicchi". Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 Jan. 2015, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gianni-Schicchi.

Alexandra Xenia Sabina Mossolow. 2003. The career of South African soprano Nellie du Toit, born 1929. Unpublished Masters thesis. University of Stellenbosch.

Antoinette Johanna Olivier. 2014. 'Exploring contributions to opera by The Black Tie Ensemble: a historical case study'. Mini-dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master‟s in Music at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=725433360894068&set=a.710296835741054&locale=es_LA

https://iol.co.za/entertainment/music/2011-10-04-trilogy-worthwhile-evening-of-opera/

https://www.artscape.co.za/cape-town-operas-suor-angelica-gianni-schicchi-for-artscape-14-17-february-2024/