When Il trittico, or "the triptych," was first unveiled at the Metropolitan Opera, New York in 1918, it represented an operatic departure. Instead of a single evening-length narrative, Puccini offered three contrasting one-act works.
The first panel, Il Tabarro (The Cloak), takes us to a barge on the banks of the Seine, where an unusually dark version of the eternal operatic triangle is played out with a gruesome and violent ending. Next comes the pastel-shaded Suor Angelica (Sister Angelica), set in a convent where a woman has been sent to expiate the "sin" of having an illegitimate baby; suddenly a relative arrives to bring her some devastating news. Finally, in the mordant comedy Gianni Schicchi we meet the Florentine relatives of the late Buoso Donati, intent upon altering the will of their deceased family member with the aid of a wily newcomer to the city.
