Puccini’s trilogy, “Il Trittico” is completed on this week’s Sunday Opera (11/17 3:00 p.m.) with OperaDelaware’s production of “Gianni Schicchi” which will be pared with "Buoso's Ghost," a new opera by Michael Ching that looks at Buoso Donati’s family trying to seek revenge after the action of "Schicchi" ends. The trickster Schicchi is sung in both by Sean Anderson. In the first, he pretends to be the dying Donati in order to falsify a will at the behest of Donati’s scheming family, but in fact, leaves the choicest “bits” to himself and his daughter, Lauretta. In “Buoso’s Ghost,” the family is back with more than vengeance on their minds, and Schicchi’s wiles are once again put to the test.
The cast also includes Sara Duchovnay as Lauretta and Kirk Dougherty as Rinuccio, Lauretta’s beloved. Claudia Chapa is Zita, the domineering matriarch of the family, and that family includes Matthew Curran, Alexandra Rodrick, Andrew Pardini, Dana Macintosh, Orin Strunk, and Hans Tashjian. Michael Ching is conducting. After the operas, join Michael Kownacky for more music from the Puccini dynasty that includes the two earliest known works by Giacomo as well as pieces by his father, Michele, and grandfather, Domenico. We’ll round out our time together with an hour of incredibly evocative music found in Bruckner’s unfinished 9th Symphony.
