On Site Opera Celebrates 10th Anniversary Season With GIANNI SCHICCHI

On Site Opera, New York's pioneering opera company rooted in site-specific storytelling and the immersive experience, announces their production of Giacomo Puccini's comedy Gianni Schicchi, April 7-10 at The Prince George Ballroom. The first in-person event of their 10th anniversary season, this will be performed as part of a multi-season presentation of Puccini's complete Il Trittico to include productions of Il Tabarro (The Cloak) and Suor Angelica (Sister Angelica) over the next few years in different and unique locations.

Welcoming back live audiences and a twenty-piece orchestra for this site-specific production, the grand Prince George Ballroom is transformed into the opulent home of the deceased Buoso Donati. There the family mourns the passing of their patriarch and impatiently waits to read his will and inherit his great fortune. In this hysterical farce, the mood shifts to anger when the relatives discover that they have been disinherited and call upon the scheming and ingenious Gianni Schicchi to help them re-write the will. In a series of hilarious hijinks, secret deals, and one ridiculous plan, Schicchi leaves with his pockets full but his fate sealed!

Puccini's comic masterpiece is an ensemble tour-de-force that also includes one his most celebrated arias: "O mio babbino caro" sung by Cuban soprano Laura León as Lauretta. John Riesen will sing Lauretta's lover Rinuccio, and Luis Ledesma will sing the title role. The Donati family will be performed by Jay Lucas Chacon (Betto), Alexandria Crichlow (La Ciesca), Patrice P. Eaton (Zita), Jonathan R. Green (Marco), Michael Kuhn (Gherardo), David Langan (Simone), Christine Lyons (Nella), and Savannah McElhaney (Gherardino), and Martin Pfefferkorn (Buoso). David Kahng (Pinellino) and Brian McQueen (Spinelloccio/Amantio) round out the cast. Eric Einhorn directs and Geoffrey McDonald conducts.

"We are so excited to explore this classic and familiar score in a new and exciting way," notes Eric Einhorn, General and Artistic Director of On Site Opera. "The art deco ballroom is the perfect venue for this updated telling. This production allows us to return to the immersive storytelling that has always been a hallmark of our work, as well as remain committed to our core values that include bringing together artists from all backgrounds and identities. With this production, we honor opera's past while looking energetically towards its future."

The production will be sung in Italian, with English and Spanish translations via On Site Opera's official mobile app.

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