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The Arts Intel Report

Gianni Schicchi, by Giacomo Puccini

Apr 7–10, 2022
15 E 27th St, New York, NY 10016

Have fun, do good! For its next act, New York’s itinerant Onsite Opera takes over the Prince George Ballroom, a glamorously restored Beaux Arts party space owned and operated by the nonprofit Breaking Ground, which provides affordable housing for homeless and low-income New Yorkers. The entertainment this time is Gianni Schicchi, the knockabout comic finale of Puccini’s triple bill Il Trittico, centering on the relatives of a Florentine and their efforts to override his disappointing last will and testament. Luis Ledesma stars in the juicy title role of the fraudster from Dante’s Inferno who pulls the job off—but doesn’t stop there. Laura León sings Lauretta, Schicchi’s penniless daughter, who has the hit tune (“O mio babbino caro”) and winds up with a handsome dowry. Puccini’s extravagant orchestration is heard in an arrangement of 20 players, conducted by Geoffrey McDonald. The director is Eric Einhorn, a whiz at opera on the hoof. —Matthew Gurewitsch

Photo: Bowie Dunwoody.