2024 is a very particular year in the world of opera. It is the first year since Italian opera garnered the mark of Unesco's Intangible Cultural Heritage. But it is also the 100th anniversary from the demise of one of the world's greatest ever opera masters - Giacomo Puccini. In marking this centenary, the Aurora Opera House wanted to bring home some of Puccini's yet unexplored repertoire. Therefore, it is with great pleasure and tenacity that the Aurora is presenting Il Trittico - the three operas which the composer created to have them presented together in one night, hence Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi.
Production-wise and logistically this will be a very challenging feat. Suffice it to say that Il Tabarro and Gianni Schicci were only staged in Malta between 1924 and 1928. Therefore, this will be the first ever occasion in which the Maltese Islands will have the opportunity to view these three works of art together, just as the composer intended them to be.
For yet another year, the Aurora administration left no stone unturned in elevating this occasion and making it a milestone in the islands' cultural calendar. On the design front, the theatre managed to secure the artistic collaboration of Luke Azzopardi and Riccardo Buscarini, this year with set designer Mike Zerafa. Il Trittico 2024 is sure to be the event that will draw a large crowd from the arts community.
Indeed, in celebrating the 100 years of Giacomo Puccini's demise, the Aurora is specifically celebrating 1924 with a very significant premiere and in a very distintive aesthetic language! On the musical side, Colin Attard will lead the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra together with an eclectic international and local cast, which as per requirements of the three orchestral scores, will be the largest cast ever in the history of opera in Gozo. Some of the more notable names include sopranos Renata Vari and Laura Esposito, tenor Vitaliy Kovalchuk and baritone Armando Pina Lopez. This year's cast also features an accentuated list of Maltese names, fronted by Graziella DeBattista, Claire Ghigo, Vanessa Magro, Francesca Aquilina, Nadia Vella and Louis Andrew Cassar. And by no means would this make the whole cast, which includes the likes of Federico Buttazzo, Francesco Napoleoni, Angelo Sapienza, Andrea Carcassi and Marco Guarini apart from other singers from the opera chorus ranks who are stepping up for the intricate solo roles, particularly found in Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi.
A trio of one-act operas of love and loss, Il Trittico runs the gamut from high drama and heartbreaking tragedy to devilish black comedy and farce. Trapped is the recurring theme, as Il Tabarro (The Cloak) sees a wife trapped in a marriage she yearns to escape, Suor Angelica is trapped into a life for which she has no vocation, while Gianni Schicchi's dysfunctional family is funnily enough caught in the snare of a shameless conman.
Apart from the regular opera seats, selling fast at €90, €75 and €55, opera patrons have the luxury choice of the last few remaining Premium Boxes that come with the luxury of a butler service, champagne and nibbles in the comfort of one's exclusive box, and the exclusive Vin d'Honneur reception during the first interval. They are easily obtainable online from www.teatruaurora.com or via the tickets helpline +356 7904 5779 (calls/SMS).
Il Trittico at the Teatru tal-Opra Aurora is being supported by the Investment in Cultural Organisations - Gozo programme by Arts Council Malta and the Ministry for Gozo and Planning and Bank of Valletta as the main sponsor, together with a number of other generous corporate supporters.