The Addams Family meets The Sopranos in NJ Festival Orchestra’s upcoming production of Puccini’s only comedy, Gianni Schicchi (pronounced “Johnny SKI-kee.”) A cast of internationally acclaimed guest performers from NY Met Opera and beyond joins Maestro David Wroe and the fully professional orchestra to present this hilarious, rip-roaring romp, fully staged and in costume, Addams Family style.
Puccini’s comic masterpiece, a riotous one-acter, chronicles the backstabbing and conniving nature of the grasping Donati family of Florence, Italy, as they gather at the death bed of their rich uncle. Unexpectedly disinherited, they turn to an outsider, Gianni Schicchi, to change the will in their favor with hilarious and unexpected results.
Beth Greenberg directs, bringing this fast-paced and deliciously dark comedy into a fully staged imagined Victorian-Goth world, with plenty of Addams Family costumes and kookiness thrown in for good measure.
“This opera is a lot of fun,” said NJFO Music Director David Wroe. “The tempo is fast, the Addams Family original interpretation is electrifying, the score effervescent, and our guest artists are sensational actors as well as singers.”
A team of stars from NY Met Opera and beyond joins NJFO to act out this rip-roaring comic romp of deception, greed and double-crossing.
Daniel Klein, hailed by the NY Times as “the stentorian bass-baritone,” sings the title role.
Met. Opera soprano Ashley Emerson sings the role of Lauretta, his daughter. With her sparkling voice and stage presence, Ms. Emerson has been described as a "vocal and dramatic delight” (St. Louis Post Dispatch). She has appeared in over 200 Metropolitan Opera performances.
Tenor Dane Suarez returns to NJFO to sing Lauretta’s lover, Rinuccio. Praised for his "big, heroic voice" (LA Weekly) and "powerful emotions," audience members will likely remember Mr. Suarez as one of their favorite NJFO Holiday Tenors.
Janice Meyerson, mezzo-soprano, is Zita, the dead Buoso Donati’s conniving cousin. Ms. Meyerson has performed to critical acclaim in major opera houses throughout the world including companies of Berlin, Buenos Aires, Frankfurt, New York City, Brussels, Barcelona, Washington, Boston, Montreal, London, Dublin, Taipei and more.
"We are thrilled to be joined by these fabulous singers,” continued Wroe. “Each of them is a star who has already graced the stages of some of the most magnificent concert halls and opera houses across the world. With their outstanding artistic interpretation and comedic technique, I predict that audience members will not only revel in the music – they’ll love the updated Addams Family/Goth interpretation and be laughing their heads off!
“You don’t have to be an opera lover to enjoy this performance,” continued Wroe. “Anyone who enjoys comedy and appreciates the Addams Family will surely get a kick out of this!”
Sung in Italian with English supertitles, Gianni Schicchi, has been made possible through the generous support from the NJ State Council on the Arts and The Joseph T. DeAlessandro Memorial Foundation.
If you go: Gianni Schicchi will be performed in Hoboken NJ, and Springfield, NJ:
Friday, February 24th at 8:00pm at DeBaun PAC, Stevens Institute of Technology, 24 5th St, Hoboken, NJ. For tickets and information go to https://debaunpac.ticketleap.com/gianni2023/
Saturday, February 25th at 7:00pm at Renaissance Church, 639 Mountain Ave, Springfield, NJ. For tickets and information go to https://www.njfestivalorchestra.org/concerts or call 908-232-9400.
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