Peking University, April 11, 2014: "If you were ever in doubt that operas could be hilarious, then Puccini's one-act opera Gianni Schicchi will convince you." On April 1 and 2, "A Dream of Florence", a one-act comic opera adapted from Gianni Schicchi was presented jointly by students from Opera Research Institute and Law School in Centennial Memorial Hall of PKU.

photo of the opera

The show was kicked off with a special court trail in which students and alumni from Law School staged a great debate. Based on the original work, Li Wei, director of this opera, revived the script with current hot topics and PKU features, which gave rise to bursts of laughter.

The adaption of the rollicking scherzo kept the authenticity of the original work while rejuvenated it with more vigor and appeal. The audience tasted the humor in the opera while enchanted themselves in the charm of art in the April Fool's Day.

Young and passionate, the majority of the cast are students, among who are Chinese rising stars in the opera field. For example, the heroine Chen XiaoDuo, known as lyrical coloratura soprano, has performed in many prestigious concert halls and theatres around the world and has won lots of excellent awards in music field.

photo of the cast

Extended Reading

Comic opera, also known as opera buffa, flourishes in 18th century. It usually has real stories that people like, and musically, it has brisk and humorous melodies. Gianni Schicchi is an Italian one-act comic opera composed by Giacomo Puccini, and its script was written by Giovacchino Forzano. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico (The Triptych)–three one-act operas with contrasting themes, originally written to be presented together. Although it continues to be performed with one or both of the other trittico operas, Gianni Schicchi is now more frequently staged either alone or with short operas by other composers. The aria "O mio babbino caro" is one of Puccini's best known, and one of the most popular arias in opera.

Written by: He Lingqi
Edited by: Zhu Wenjia
Source: Opera Research Institute