Dittico: Mavra / Gianni Schicchi, I. Stravinsky / G. Puccini
An exciting double-bill opera event, Mavra / Gianni Schicchi is staged at the glorious Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, in Florence. Mavra, a one-act comic opera, was written by Igor Stravinsky while Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini takes the same form, allowing audiences to enjoy both in an operatic event that features some superb arias and duets.
Boris Kochno provided Stravinsky with the libretto for Mavra, which premiered at the Théatre National de l'Opéra in Paris on 3 June 1922, presented by none other than Sergei Diaghilev, the famous 20th-century theatrical impresario. Mavra was written after a short story by Alexander Pushkin entitled The Little House in Kolomna. It has a simple – some would say straightforward - plot that Kochno and Stravinsky thought would suit a one-act format, not least because of the story's surprise ending. Set in a Russian village in the middle of the 19th century, the opera has four characters, a young woman, Parasha, who loves a young man named Vassili. As the story unfolds, Vassili is encouraged to dress up as a maid named Mavra to get him into Parasha's home without her mother knowing but the idea is soon discovered.
Gianni Schicchi is the final of the trio of one-act operas that Puccini wrote to form his so-called “Trittico”. Composed in 1917 and 1918, the opera is based on a relatively short section of Dante's Divine Comedy. Giovacchino Forzano, who initially studied medicine before moving into the arts, provided Puccini with the libretto. The trio of operas made their debuts at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on 14 December 1918 and Gianni Schicchi was widely regarded at the time to be a hit. The aria 'O mio babbino caro' soon became a favourite beloved by many opera fans on both sides of the Atlantic. Set in late Medieval Florence, the story tells the events that follow the death of a local nobleman, Buoso Donati. His family members gather to mourn him but soon discover they might not be getting the inheritance they were expecting. The title character decides to take matters into his own hands by attempting to assume the deceased's identity, but can he pull off such an audacious act?
With two thrilling operas on the same bill, audiences will love the fast-paced action and light comic touches in both Mavra and Gianni Schicchi. Given the superb acoustics of Florence's Teatro del Maggio, every nuanced delivery from the performers will be heard in an event like few others.