Il Trittico (The Tryptich) is last complete opera composed by Puccini. Turandot came later but was never completed except by later musicologists. Il Trittico is a collection of three operas, Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, and the most famous, Gianni Schicchi, which has been described by maestro Donlon of the Los Angeles Opera as a "perfect opera." The three vary in style but are still undeniably Puccini, and are linked together by the theme of death. The Los Angeles Opera is presenting an absolutely smashing production of this trio of Puccini gems.

Il Tabarro (The Cloak) is a masterpiece in the "verissimo" style. Puccini loved to champion the working class person's trials, joys, and tragedies. Her he deals with life on the banks of the Seine. A Parisian barge owner, Michele, is here beautifully sung by the rich-voiced Mark Devlon. His young wife Georgette, sung by the beautiful German soprano Anja Kampe, has fallen out of love after the death of their child and is having an affair with a young stevedore, Luigi, nicely sung by Salvatore Lecitra. The stunning set is by Santo Loquasto and the opera is well directed by film director William Friedkin.

Friedkin also directed the highly sentimental Suor Angelica in which a young woman, shamed by having a child out of wedlock, joins a monastery, and on hearing of her child's death commits suicide. Loquasto has again designed the set, a cloister in Italy, complete with gorgeous sunsets. We are treated to a group of singing nuns, a mean aunt (Larissa Diadkova making an impressive Company debut), and an apparition of the Virgin Mary. American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky sings the title role effortlessly and powerfully. She left many people crying at curtain.

The third opera is a comedy, here directed by no less than Woody Allen, who updated it to an Italian Mafioso setting. It was hilarious. Only Woody Allen would DARE to direct the famous lyrical solo "O mio babino caro" in such a way as to get laughs. Thomas Allen is wonderful in the title role, and he is ably supported by Laura Ratulescu and Saimir Pirgu. Santo Loquasto outdid himself on the set, creating an Italian two-story house in Florence complete with laundry, pasta, and a general mess.

I heartily recommend Il Trittico if you can get tickets. It plays at the Los Angeles Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center until September 26th. In runs in repertory with a newly commissioned work, The Fly, based on David Cronenberg's 1986 film by the same name.