Opera Scotland

Gianni Schicchi 2007Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD)

Read more about the opera Gianni Schicchi

It is perhaps a surprising quirk of its repertoire decisions that Scottish Opera has never staged Gianni Schicchi or any other of Puccini's one-acters. But the students at the Academy have done it a few times, and having lots of individually characterised small roles makes it an attractive work for the student body to undertake. This was not one of the more memorable stagings, however. When playing comedy, it is so often the case that less is more. This staging was so overcrowded with frantic activity that it wasn't as funny as it might have been if it had been played straight.