Two one-act operas by Giacomo Puccini
Suor Angelica
Kelly Kuo, conductor
Margaret Jumonville, director
Sister Angelica has been forced to enter a convent by her family, following a scandal. Her aunt the Princess pays her first visit since Angelica entered the convent years ago, asking Angelica to sign over her inheritance to her younger sister. The Princess reveals that Angelica’s illegitimate son, whom she has thought of every day since she entered the convent, died years ago. Distraught, Angelica prepares a poison and commits suicide.
Gianni Schicchi
Kelly Kuo, conductor
Azalea Laredo, director
In this hysterical farce, Gianni Schicchi opens on the Donati family mourning the passing of their patriarch, Buoso. Their tears, however, are not real until they discover that Buoso has left his immense fortune to a monastery. Frantic and greedy, they call upon Gianni Schicchi, a self-made lower class man, to help them re-write the will. In a series of hilarious hijinks, secret deals, and one ridiculous plan, the family succeeds in tricking the doctor and the notary into thinking that Schicchi is Buoso. However, when the time comes, Schicchi leaves every great part of the fortune to himself. Schicchi reminds the audience that his fraud has not only made him rich and humbled the family, but brought together two young lovers; his daughter, Lauretta, and Rinuccio.