Ithaca College

Performances will begin this week at the Dillingham Center at Ithaca College of two one-act operas by Giacomo Puccini, “Suor Angelica” and “Gianni Schicchi”. Immediately following the Sunday, February 24th, 2 p.m matinee will be a talk-back led by conductor and music director Brian DeMaris. The event will begin at approximately 4:00pm and will be held in Dillingham’s upper lobby area.

Assistant Professor DeMaris will describe the process of mounting the production, from title selection through rehearsal and production. He will invite questions from the audience and, as there will be a piano on hand, the session is sure to be both lively and tuneful.

DeMaris will share his insights about this work. He says, “Though Puccini had originally set out to write three operas based on excerpts from Dante's ‘Divine Comedy,’ ‘Gianni Schicchi’ is the only one that ultimately retained any connection. Instead, the three works are unified mainly in that each involves death. In ‘Schicchi’ the death is comic. Musically, each opera stands on its own. Puccini intended for them to be performed together, but they are most often performed on their own or even paired with other one-act operas by other composers.” For more about Assistant Professor DeMaris, please visit https://faculty.ithaca.edu/bdemaris/

The talk-back is free. Ticket prices for the opera performances range from $5.50 and $11 and are on sale at all Ticket Center outlets, including Ticket Center Ithaca on the Commons and the Dillingham Center Box Office. For tickets, call (607) 274-3224, (607) 273-4497, or visit www.ithacaevents.com. For further information, visit www.ithaca.edu/mainstage or www.facebook.com/ICtheatrearts.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact the Dillingham ticket office at (607) 274-3224.. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.