Dead bodies are the stuff of operas. No less so with Puccini in this vividly reimagined Gianni Schicchi which begins with a just dead but still-warm corpse lying in a swimming pool. It’s tempting to mangle a phrase from Star Trek: “It’s Puccini, Jim, but not as we know it”. That said, the essence of his one-acter, premiered originally in 1918 and forming the final panel of Il Trittico, remains intact in this sparkling reboot from the enterprising Southampton-based company that is OperaUpClose. This fresh take on the fortune-seeking family outwitted by the wily Schicchi is invigorated by a modern English translation from Hannah Kumari supported by a pocket-sized instrumental version by Vahan Salorian. The creative partnership shrink wrap this satirical comedy to six singers and four players – violin, clarinet, double bass and accordion – both groups freely moving around the stage and performing from memory. It’s an impressive achievement that could well become a template for other touring opera companies.
Directed by PJ Harris, Medieval Florence becomes the seaside town of Harmouth, somewhere on the south coast of England – its relocation outlined in a newly commissioned spoken overture framed as a podcast and fashioned by Ri Baroche. The cod Shakespearean language might amuse some observers, but I wasn’t convinced of its purpose other than indicate the expressive freedom to come. And there is considerable artistic freedom by Kumari who takes liberties with the narrative, but since it’s all so entertaining it doesn’t matter. Only Gianni and Lauretta retain their original names (cast here as brother and sister), while her beloved Rinuccio is Roddie and Buoso Donati is Bruno Donaldson – his body here having all the appearance of a soggy mattress.
We meet his fortune-seeking family at a summer party given by him at his swanky villa decked out by Anna Yates’ primary colours. After finding Bruno drowned in the pool, a frantic search for his will reveals only a huge gift to his local football club. Family feuding begins with greedy eyes on a champion racehorse, town house and luxury yacht, continuing with much appalling snobbery (“you can’t marry the sister of a chav”). Bickering briefly pauses with Gianni’s rewriting of the will while impersonating Bruno, before he outwits them all by bequeathing the bulk of Bruno’s estate to himself. It turns out well for Lauretta and Roddie as the happy couple can marry and honeymoon at Koh Phangan. But a further detour from Giovacchino Forzano’s original libretto brings a closing plot twist.
What’s exciting about this production is its energy and immediacy, due in part to the intimacy between stage and audience at the Mayflower’s main Studio. In addition, there’s the terrific chemistry between the cast who are clearly having a ball. As a bonus one can enjoy a mobile and unconducted quartet of players who, with no music stands to impede their movement, seamlessly weave in and out of the singers. Valerie Barr’s accordion is amusingly repurposed as a typewriter for the scene where she becomes the dim-witted solicitor, and the equally versatile double-bassist Jess Martin brings aplomb to his drink-soused doctor (Maestro Spinelloccio). Elsewhere, clarinettist Stephanie Yim and violinist Simon Hewitt Jones double as witnesses to the will.
Amongst the singers, Dan D’Souza is an ideal fit as the opportunistic Schicchi, his sly humour and mahogany-tinged baritone amply communicated. No less powerful is Aaron O’Hare’s Roddie, his burnished tenor ringing out clearly in his set piece number despite the unhelpful acoustic. And honours too for British Argentinian soprano Ceferina Penny as Lauretta whose ‘O Mio Babbino caro’ is sung with commendable control, although the words “I simply can’t go on” when she contemplates suicide felt somewhat banal and I longed for the Italian. Other roles are well-filled with a well-matched trio comprising John Molloy’s coke-snorting Simon, Felicity Buckland’s objectionable Zara and Emma Marwood’s self-important Claudia.
In short, this is a must-see staging, and while this show is very much an interpretation in a “not as we know it” kind of way, OperaUpClose has created a corker of a production. Never more appropriate is this touring company’s tag line “Intimate in Scale Mighty in Impact”. Without a doubt, OperaUpClose is a class act.
David Truslove
Gianni Schicchi
Music: Giocomo Puccini re-orchestrated by Vahan Salorian
Libretto: Hannah Kumari after Giovacchino Forzano
Cast and creatives:
Gianni Schicchi – Dan D’Souza; Lauretta – Ceferina Penny; Roddie – Aaron O’Hare; Simon – John Molloy; Zara – Felicity Buckland; Claudia – Emma Marwood; Doctor / Double Bass – Jess Martin; Solicitor / Accordion – Valerie Barr; Witness / Clarinet – Stephanie Yim; Witness / Violin – Simon Hewitt Jones.
Director – PJ Harris; Designer – Anna Yates; Musical Supervisor – Erika Gundeson; Movement/Staff Director – Natasha Harrison; Lighting & Captions Design – Rachel Sampley; Spoken Word Artist – Ri Baroche
Mayflower Studios, Southampton, 6 March 2025
All photos © Rich Southgate