(Photo: Padraig Grant)

To mark the hundredth anniversary of the death of Giacomo Puccini, the Wexford Festival Opera commissioned William Niall Morris to create a short work celebrating the composer’s life and music. The result was a short piece, lasting about an hour, entitled “Puccini: Man of the Theatre,” which essentially amounted to a selection of his greatest hits linked together by a witty narrative in which Puccini reflects on his passion for music, hunting, fast cars and, of course, women.

Morris’ Imaginative Approach

Morris takes us on a journey through important events in the composer’s life, such as his relationship with Elvira, who was eventually to become his wife, but only after her husband, Narciso Gemigani, a local greengrocer, had died. We meet his friends, Pietro, Marco and Luigi who move into his villa with him for five years and build the “Le Club de Boheme” in its gardens. We hear about his near fatal car crash, in which he careered off the road as he sped along at 8 m.p.h., and of the chapel in Villa del Lago, where the maestro and his family are buried. The diva, Rosa Raisa, who starred as Turandot in its premiere, puts in an appearance, much to Puccini’s delight. And then there is the maid, Doria Manfredi, who commits suicide after Elvira, raging with jealousy, accuses her of having an affair with Puccini, an event that caused a great scandal at the time, especially when the autopsy declared she died a virgin.

The drama moves swiftly, with Puccini, played by Morris himself, narrating and commenting on the events, in which his memories morph fact with fiction, so that his friends, family and also his enemy, the greengrocer, take on the roles of characters in his operas, allowing them to delight the audience with renditions of his arias and ensemble pieces.

Apart from one or two brief meanderings, Puccini is a spoken role, for which Morris produced an excellent performance with his humorous characterization that kept the audience fully engaged. Presenting the composer as an acutely aware, sensitive individual who, very much tongue-in-cheek, enjoyed drawing attention to his own immodesty, precious disposition and success. His gently mocked the other characters around him, especially the greengrocer, for whom he reserved some of his funniest comments. Almost every other sentence had the audience tittering or laughing out loud. However, he was also able to capture a more reflective side to his personality, particularly with regards to the suicide of Doria, in which regret and pain were evident.

The other roles were taken by singers, all of whom were able to create convincing and clearly defined characters in the very short time they were on stage. They also produced pleasing singing performances, which was no easy task given each piece is so well-known, and almost inevitably drew comparisons with recordings made by the greatest opera stars over the past hundred years. Moreover, having only a piano accompaniment to support them left their voices exposed, yet they all delivered and did not fall short.

A Young, Fully Committed Cast

The Young Puccini, played by tenor Liam Forrest, opened the singing with Mario’s romanza from “Tosca,” “Recondita armonia,” which allowed him to show off his pleasing tone and ability to capture the beauty of the melody.

Soprano Iúno Connolly gave a lively and expressive performance as Elvira, successfully capturing her changing moods. She possesses a colorful, resonant and flexible voice, which she employed intelligently in a number of pieces, including the aria “Il mio babbino caro” from “Gianni Schicchi,” which brought the opera to a close.

Baritone Philip Kalmanovitch as the greengrocer Narciso Gemigani created a unique portrait of the evil Baron Scarpia, presenting him as a comedy character; Puccini just could not resist mocking his enemy! Singing the “Te Deum” that brings the first act of “Tosca” to a conclusion, Ferguson entered from the back of the auditorium, his imposing voice booming out and tainted with evil intent. By the time he arrived on the performance area, he was more greengrocer than police chief, producing onions and other vegetables from his pockets.

The three bohemians who moved into Puccini’s villa, Luigi, Piero and Marco, essayed by baritone Michael Ferguson, tenor Andrew Henley and bass-baritone Meilir Jones, proved to be a good, spirited group. Ferguson and Henley gave a well-balanced and expressive rendition of the duet “O Mimi, tu più non torni” from “La Boheme,” which showed off Ferguson’s attractive flexibility and, following a little initial insecurity, Henley’s ability in promoting the melody. They were later joined by Elvira for an emotionally strong performance of the Act three trio from “La Boheme.”

The third bohemian Pietro was parted by bass-baritone Meilir Jones, who sang the aria “Vecchia  zimarra” from “La Boheme.” Although it is one of the smaller roles, he made a strong impression; his voice has an alluring strength, fullness and depth that is consistent across the range, which gave weight and gravitas to his singing.

Soprano Isabel Araujo was a meek and sweet-natured Doria Manfredi, who successfully captured the audience’s sympathies as the victim of Puccini’s reputation as a womaniser and Elvira’s distrustful nature. Unsurprisingly, she was tasked with singing Liu’s aria, “Signore ascolta,” from “Turandot,” for which she provided a pleasing rendition, if somewhat squally in the upper register.

She was joined by mezzo-soprano Katie MacDonald as her sister Giulia Manfredi for the duet “Tutti I fior?” from “Madama Butterfly,” in which their voices complemented each other to produce a solid reading.

Soprano Federica Raja, playing the role of Rosa Raisa, was a suitably over-the-top diva who soon had Puccini drooling. Singing the aria, “Chi bel sogno di Doretta,” from “La Rodine,” she displayed sensitivity to the text and an attractive timbre, although there was a little awkwardness when pushing into her higher register, which did not, however, overly disturb the overall impression.

The young Marcus Hussey as Puccini’s son, Antonio, produced a nice rendition of the Shepherd Boy’s aria, “Io de’ sospiri,” from “Tosca.”

The penultimate aria was “Nessun Dorma,” sung by the entire cast, which had the desired effect with the audience applauding loudly.

The pianist, Pantesilena Jaho, kept everything moving along with an emotionally sensitive and balanced performance in which particular consideration was given to the singers.

The scenery and costumes were designed by Lisa Krugel, who did exceptionally well in creating a staging that was aesthetically engaging, captured the time period and provided a successful backdrop for the drama to play out. It may have been a low-budget production, but it did not have the appearance of one; the late nineteenth to early twentieth-century costumes in particular were quite elaborate.

Morris also took on the role of director and did a fine job! His ideas were simple yet very effective. Puccini was seated on one side of the stage and talked directly to the audience, reflecting upon his life. The characters moved on and off as required and were presented imaginatively to quickly establish their characters. Comedy was a central element in his presentation, and it worked exceptionally well in drawing the audience into Puccini’s world. The musical pieces were designed to flow naturally from the simple drama.

Overall, it was a very pleasant way to pass an hour before lunch. There is nothing particularly special or insightful about “Puccini: Man of the Theatre,” and it will, no doubt, quickly slip from the memory. However, it is also not a work that could upset anyone. It is simply a light piece that one can sit back and enjoy.