Baylor Opera Theater Presents Two Masterpieces By Puccini

Baylor Opera Theater will present a pair of one-act operas by Italian master Giacomo Puccini -- his Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi -- from Jan. 28-31 in the Jesse H. Jones Theater of Baylor University's Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center. Performances on Saturday, Jan. 28, Monday, Jan. 30, and Tuesday, Jan. 31, will begin at 7:30 p.m. A matinée performance will be staged at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29.
The productions are under the general supervision of Richard Aslanian, lecturer in music and director of opera. Conducting the Baylor Opera Orchestra will be J. Christopher Buddo, director of ensembles and associate professor of double bass and conducting.
Both of these operas, the dramatic Suor Angelica and the comic Gianni Schicchi, are from Puccini's triptych Il Trittico, which premiered at New York City's Metropolitan Opera House on Dec. 14, 1918.
Suor Angelica ("Sister Angelica") takes place in a convent near Siena, Italy. It tells the poignant story of a nun who has sought refuge to expiate an old sin. Angelica's lament "Senza mamma," her arioso "O fiori," and the orchestral intermezzo are well-known highlights.
Gianni Schicchi is a delightful farce that wittily exposes mankind's natural inclination for greed. It takes place in a mansion where the deceased master's valuable estate is to be divided among his conniving survivors. Its most famous excerpt is the beautiful "O mio babbino caro."
The Baylor performances are fully staged and costumed, sung by award-winning student vocalists, and directed by the innovative David Holley, director of opera at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Tickets for these Puccini operas are priced at $15. Baylor students, faculty and staff will be admitted for $13 by showing their Baylor ID at the theater department box office. For more information, call (254) 710-1865.