Il tabarro / Gianni Schicchi

English Touring Opera presents two one-act works by Puccini (from his opera trilogy 'Il trittico'). First, the highly-charged 'Il tabarro' ("The Cloak') takes place on a barge moored in Paris. A haunting masterpiece directed by James Conway, it offers big lyrical roles for soprano (Julie Unwin), tenor (Charne Rochford) and baritone (Simon Thorpe). It is followed by the comedy 'Gianni Schicchi', in which the greedy family of poor, dead Buoso dry their eyes to claim his fortune; however the wily Schicchi (Richard Mosley-Evans) also has his eyes set on the inheritance. In the middle of Liam Steel's pacy new production comes one of Puccini's sweetest arias, 'O! mio babbino caro' (sung by Paula Sides). Michael Rosewell conducts. (Sung in Italian with English captions. Total running time: 2 hours and 10 minutes.)