Cast
Denis Krief — Stage director, set designer, costume designer, lighting designer
Franco Vassallo — Michele
Angelo Villari — Luigi
Antonio Garés — Il “Tinca” (Tench)
Eugenio Di Lieto — Il “Talpa” (Mole)
María José Siri — Giorgetta
Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Lorenzo Fratini — Chorus Master
Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Valerio Galli — Conductor
Program notes
Discover Giacomo Puccini's Il Tabarro ("The Cloak") in a remarkable production by the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. In this one-act opera—the first part of the Il Trittico trilogy—Michele (tenor Angelo Villari), the owner of a boat docked on the Seine, is married to Giorgetta (the sublime María José Siri), who does not share his love. Suffering from her unhappy marriage, the young woman secretly seeks out Luigi, one of the dockworkers, with a fabulous performance by Franco Vassallo. She waits for her lover by the river, but the glow of Luigi’s match betrays him to Michele, who catches and stabs him before wrapping his body in his raincoat. Frightened by her husband’s fury, Giorgetta approaches him to ask forgiveness, but is met with horror as Michele opens his coat and reveals Luigi’s body.
Denis Krief's staging is admirable for its faithfulness to the verismo style of this opera, giving it a passionate yet striking and sombre atmosphere. The immersive set centers around a photograph projection of boats alongside the river in Paris, with a large wooden platform in front symbolising Michele’s formidable barge. As for Puccini's music, brilliantly conducted by Valerio Galli, it imitates the flow of the river—a central element of the plot, always present alongside the characters' torments.
Photo © Michele Monasta
