Gianni Schicchi

In the spirit of the celebrations for Dante Alighieri, the 2021 season at Teatro Municipale di Piacenza begins. A special tribute will be dedicated to the supreme poet, 700 years after his passing (1321 – 2021), blending literature and melodrama. The program includes the production of Gianni Schicchi, one of the most famous and beloved operas by Giacomo Puccini, preceded by verses from the Divine Comedy dedicated to Schicchi, whom Dante places among the “counterfeiters of person” in the 30th Canto of the Inferno. The Dantean reading, titled Tribute to the Supreme Poet – Gianni Schicchi in Dante’s Inferno, will be entrusted to the reciting voice of Piacenza actor Mino Manni.

Following this, the performance of Puccini’s opera Gianni Schicchi, conducted by Massimiliano Stefanelli leading the Italian Philharmonic Orchestra. The direction is by Renato Bonajuto, a welcome return after The Barber of Seville last December, as is that of baritone Roberto de Candia, who, after playing Figaro, now takes on the role of Gianni Schicchi. Joining him is soprano Giuliana Gianfaldoni in the role of Lauretta, already applauded at the Municipale in 2020 as Nannetta in Falstaff, mezzo-soprano Valeria Tornatore, young tenor Matteo Desole, Andrea Galli, Renata Campanella, Graziano Dallavalle, Mattia Denti, Juliusz Loranzi, Stefania Ferrari, Valentino Salvini, Simone Tansini, Francesco Cascione, Lorenzo Sivelli and the young Elettra Secondi. The scenic concept is by Danilo Coppola, costumes are by Artemio Cabassi, and lighting by Michele Cremona.