World famous tenor Plácido Domingo will be star in the title role in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, a revival of Woody Allen’s first opera this coming September.
The production, which features the well-known aria “O mio babbino caro,” was first staged by Allen in 2008 at the Los Angeles Opera. The opera focuses on a side character in Dante's Inferno, with Allen using the revival to add more modern relavance, including allusions to Italian cinerma and the fast-paced comedy style often seen in his most famous films.
The performance will appear in a double bill with Leoncavallo’s work Pagliacci, in a production by Franco Zeffirelli. Pagliacci will be conducted by Domingo after he stars in the Puccini opera. He will also perform the opera in June at Madrid’s Teatro Real. Other performers in Gianni Schicchi include Arturo Chacón-Cruz and Andriana Chuchman.
Domingo, general director of the Los Angeles Opera, has released a statement about the upcoming work:
"We have crafted a season full of audience favorites, and I am especially looking forward to the opportunity to both sing and conduct in our season-opening double bill of Gianni Schicchi and Pagliacci.”
Allen is known for his love of classical music and opera, often using it to score his many hit films, such as his use of Italian opera in his 2012 film To Rome With Love.
The Los Angeles Opera, currently celebrating its 30th anniversary season, will premiere Gianni Schicchi as the company's season debut Sept. 12. Tickets will go on sale in June.
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