Interview by William Chan
The Macau Experimental Theatre is set to bring Giacomo Puccini’s* only comic opera, Gianni Schicchi, to the Macao Cultural Centre (CCM) Black Box II this weekend.
Director Johny Tam (譚智泉) has recently spoken to the Post about this unique production, which promises a fresh, intimate take on the classic tale of greed, wit, and a clever deception.
Gianni Schicchi is a one-act opera buffa (Italian for “comic opera”) by Puccini, originally part of his Il Trittico (The Triptych) from 1918. While Puccini is renowned for his tragic operas, Gianni Schicchi stands out as his sole venture into comedy. The story, inspired by a brief mention in Dante’s Inferno**, revolves around the wealthy Donati family in 13th century Florence. Upon the patriarch’s death, his relatives discover he has left his fortune to a monastery. Desperate, they enlist the cunning commoner Gianni Schicchi to impersonate the deceased and dictate a new will. Schicchi, however, has his own plans, aiming to secure a future for his daughter and outsmart the greedy family.
Tam said that the opera is deeply influenced by realism, offering a precise portrayal of 13th century Italian family dynamics and inheritance conflicts. He highlighted the opera’s unique musicality, which, unlike some of Puccini’s other works, foregoes overt Eastern influences in favour of a refined integration of comedic rhythm and character logic. This makes it a compelling “architectural drama” that masterfully blends humour with the operatic form.
Schicchi: From villain to hero
Tam emphasised a key narrative shift in this production: transforming Gianni Schicchi from Dante’s condemned scoundrel into a relatable hero. Driven by the love for his daughter and her future, Schicchi’s deception becomes a justifiable act, allowing the audience to empathise with his cleverness and witness a satisfying reversal of class dynamics through laughter.
This production showcases significant regional collaboration, with approximately 70 percent of the performers being local singers working alongside professional vocalists from Hong Kong. The involvement of Macau-based Steinway Artist*** Pun Hou Sut as the piano soloist further underscores the commitment to highlighting local professional talent and fostering artistic exchange.
Black Box theatre
Departing from grand opera house traditions, this rendition is designed for the intimate setting of the Black Box theatre, creating a “music salon” atmosphere. Tam aims to challenge conventional perceptions of opera, demonstrating its flexibility and relevance in a more accessible, life-like context. The use of a piano solo arrangement, rather than a full orchestra, distils Puccini’s musical essence, and the close proximity of the piano and actors in the Black Box creates a “zero-distance” experience, forging a tight bond between music and performance, he said.
Performances are scheduled for this weekend, April 18 starting at 7:45 p.m. and April 19 commencing at 2:45 p.m., at the Macao Cultural Centre Black Box II. It will be performed in Italian, its original language, with English and Chinese subtitles. Tickets are priced at 180 patacas, with various discounts available. For purchases, please visit: https://forms.gle/5FieiefpxJbEK6qY7.
*Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was an Italian composer who dominated the opera world at the turn of the 20th century. He inherited the mantle of Italian opera from Giuseppe Verdi and brought it into the modern era with a genius for melody and theatrical instinct. He is one of the most performed opera composers on the planet today. – DeepSeek
**Dante’s Inferno - written by the exiled Florentine poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) in the early 1300s - is the first part of his epic The Divine Comedy, depicting a meticulously structured journey through Hell where sinners face punishments poetically tailored to their crimes. While Dante himself condemned Gianni Schicchi to the Eighth Circle for fraud with just a few scathing lines, Puccini later plucked that same character from damnation and placed him at the centre of opera’s most sparkling comedy. – DeepSeek
*** A Steinway Artist is a prestigious designation awarded by Steinway & Sons to world-class pianists who have chosen to perform exclusively on Steinway pianos. It is not a paid endorsement; rather, it is a formal relationship based on the artist’s preference for the instrument. Steinway & Sons is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company’s growth led to a move to a larger factory in New York, and later opening an additional factory in Hamburg, northern Germany. The New York factory, in the borough of Queens, supplies the Americas, while the factory in Hamburg supplies the rest of the world – Gemini/Wikipedia
Undated file photo of director Johny Tam posing – Photos provided by Tam
Undated file photo of music director Elyot Lou posing
