The University News

Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Culture

Media Credit: Marciem Bazell A group of students perform in "Il Trittico" by Giacomo Puccini.

Media Credit: Marciem Bazell Ivalah Allen plays Suor Angelica in one act of the same name.

I will now list all of opera's stereotypes: Viking horns and blonde braids, obese men and women who make walking look like hard work, wrinkly old women who look like the grandmothers of the fair maidens they're supposed to play, and big, obnoxious voices that make the old men in the audience incontinent.

I'm happy to say that at the UMKC opera department's performance of "Il Trittico" Friday, Feb. 22 there was none of the above.

Directed by Marciem Bazell, an associate professor and the director of opera at the Conservatory of Music and Dance, "Il Trittico" was fun, moving, and surprisingly (considering it's almost 100 years old) quite modern.

"Il Trittico" is a trio of one-act Italian operas written by Giacomo Puccini. Only two of the three are traditionally performed: "Suor Angelica" and "Gianni Schicchi."

Bazell cast the show in August, and got a wide variety of students.

"At the audition, 86 people sang and I cast the entire opera from that one day..." Bazell said. "In ['Gianni Schicchi'], it was a mixture of freshmen and grad-students, and then 'Suor Angelica' was mostly all freshmen, sophomores and then two doctoral students."

The evening opened up with Ivalah Allen, graduate student, heading the cast in the title role of Suor Angelica.

Allen played the role of a wealthy Italian woman banished to a nunnery because of the birth of her illegitimate son.

Seven years later, upon hearing news that her son has died, Angelica poisons herself in order to be reunited with him in heaven.

As the poison starts to take effect, she realizes she won't go to heaven because she's committed suicide.

Angelica cries out for a sign that she will meet him again, and the Virgin Mary appears to her with her son as she dies.

The highlights of the opera were the nun's choruses and the "Senza Mamma" aria, which was wonderfully sung by Allen.

The second one-act, "Gianni Schicchi" was an opera that even a person who hates opera would enjoy. It was smart, modern and very funny.

Jonathan Stinson headed the cast as the title role of the scheming, yet lovable Schicchi.

Set in Florence, Italy, "Gianni Schicchi" is the story of the Donati family and its plot to change the will of a rich relative, Buoso Donati, who has just died and left all his money to a monastery instead of them.

Hilarity ensues as the family invokes Gianni Schicchi to come up with a way to help them. He hatches the ingenious plan of pretending to be Buoso, and calling up his lawyer to change the will.

He tells the lawyer he doesn't want to give his money to the "fat friars" anymore, and then proceeds to list off his properties along with the family member he wants to give it to.

When the only property left is the biggest and most valuable one, he enrages the Donatis by willing it to "My dear friend, Gianni Schicchi."

The opera ends with the family unable to do anything about Schicchi's trickery because of their involvement in the scheme, and because of the penalty of hand amputation and banishment from Florence for forgery.

The audience loved it, laughing loudly throughout the whole opera.

"Comedies are more fun, because the audience gives you more right away, they give you the reassurance that you're doing a good job..." Stinson said.

The best moments of the opera were what could be called "the stump song" where the family envisions what will happen to them if they get caught forging, the aria "O Mio Bambino Caro" sung beautifully by Julie Wyma and the crowd-pleasing antics of the little boy who ran around the stage pestering his family with a dead rat.

"Could you tell he was holding up a dead rat?" Bazell asked. "...[W]hatever it was, we ran over it with a car a couple of times."

The next opera is a student performed, directed and conducted affair, featuring the work of conservatory composition majors. It's showing at Union Station, April 17-20.

tsheffield@unews.com

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