Opera Review: Il Trittico

This is the last of the regular scheduled showings of operas directly from the Metropolitan Opera House. Many of the operas have been repeated on off scheduled weeks. Watch the paper for Saturday 1:30 repetitions. All the regular operas were sold out months in advance and new theatres were opened to accommodate the great interest. For $20.00 you will have a rare outstanding theatre experience. It is better than having a front row seat at live opera. The picture is magnified and the sound is superb. During intermission you are treated to fantastic interviews with the stars. This has been a great cultural and economic success. I can’t wait for next year’s productions. There will be eight performances instead of six. There are now five theatres in GTA showing these satellite productions. Words cannot describe the awesome experience.
Call 1-800-Met-Opera or go to www.metopera.org. or hdlive@metopera.org. for ticket information.
Today’s performance was Puccini’s Il Trittico. It was really like watching three operas. Three different one act presentations wowed the audience. Il Tabarro was an emotional story of a sad couple living on a small boat. They used to love one another but the death of a son and time eroded the passion. The woman has a love tryst which ends in disaster. The mood is dark. It is a story of mad desire and jealousy. The colors were grey tones. The performances were outstanding. During the intermission we were treated to the changing of the sets for the second act. This opera requires 24 trailer trucks for sets. I couldn’t believe the number of people working on the stage to change the complicated set in preparation for the second opera. The set is in a convent. The colors are white and grey. The nuns walk about in unison and obey the head nun. We learn that one of the young nuns had a son. We are never told the whole story. When she hears that her son is dead she takes poison and as she is dying she sees her young son in front of her. This type of emotion is overwhelming. You feel like jumping out of your seat and applauding. It is interesting that you hear the overwhelming applause from the New York audience but the Toronto folk seem to sit on their hands. During the next intermission we had a real treat. We were witness to an audition for the Metropolitan Opera Company. The third presentation was a change of pace. A group of family members sit around waiting for the old uncle to die. What a collection of characters! This opera really demanded comic acting and they were all up for their parts. They can’t wait to collect the dying man’s money. When they discover that his money is all going to the monks they call in a neighbor who tricks them all. He ends up with the money himself. The acting was hysterically funny. As always the music was superb. I do believe this opera will be repeated some Saturday afternoon in the near future. Don’t miss it.