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Gianni Schicchi

Samuel Ramey is the murderous Bluebeard and Denyce Graves plays his unfortunate bride, in Bartok's thriller Bluebeard's Castle, at the Washington National Opera.

Washington National Opera

July 18, 2009, 1:00 pm

Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Conductor: Giovanni Reggioli

 

Cast: Samuel Ramey (Gianni Schicchi); Amanda Squitieri (Lauretta); Elizabeth Bishop (Zita); Antonio Gandia (Rinuccio); Robert Baker (Gherardo); Christina Martos (Nella); Tony Teleky (Gherardino); Stefano de Peppo (Betto di Signa); Valeriano Lanchas (Simone); Trevor Scheunemann (Marco); Leslie Mutchler (La Ciesca); Obed Urena (Spinelloccio); James Shaffran (Ser Armantio de Nicolao); David Morris (Pinello); Matthew Osifchin (Guccio)

 

Samuel Ramey stars in both halves of an engaging double bill, presenting two very different approaches to the mysteries of death. In Bluebeard's Castle, a slow terror unfolds as a woman (Denyce Graves) gradually realizes that the new man in her life will soon threaten her very existence. In Gianni Schicchi, Puccini virtuosically employs an ensemble cast in the story of the wily title character, who exploits everyone else's greed towards his own ends.

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