SUOR ANGELICA – PUCCINI
Presented on May 1, 4, 11, 14 at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
Edy Amedeo – Suor Angelica
Paola Mantovani – La Zia Principessa
Anna di Stasio – La Badessa
Valeria Mariconda – Suor Genoveva
Luciana Palombi – La Suora Zelatrice
Noreen Ryan – Suor Dolcina
Dympna Carney – Suor Osima
Kitty Vaughan – Maestra delle Novizie
Monica Condron / Joan Rooney – Cercatrici
Mary Troy – Una Novizia
Napoleone Annovazzi – Conductor
Enrico Frigerio – Producer
“Gianni Schicchi”, it seemed, proved best of the triple bill and according to most reviewers was well performed, with baritone Scipio Colombo outstanding in the title role, being ‘right inside the part of the wily old rogue.’ As his daughter, Valeria Mariconda, a young soprano from Tuscany, sang beautifully whilc Angelo Marchiandi, from Genoa, proved ‘a spirited tenor.’ Edwin Fitzgibbon, who had appeared earlier in “Nabucco”, was singled out for mention in a production where the teamwork was excellent. Strangely, “Suor Angelica”, which has enjoyed great success in more recent years, did not impress the critics greatly in that ’62 season, nor the third opera in the triple bill “Il Medico Suo Malgrado” which was described as ‘terribly slight,’ though Scipio Colombo and the bass Giorgio Onesti stood out in the cast.
(Extracted from “Love and Music: The Glorious History of the Dublin Grand Opera Society” by Gus Smith, 1998)
Opera in Ireland 