Description
The aria Senza Mamma (Without Your Mother), sung in the opera by Sister Angelica, is one of the most poignant moments in any of Puccini’s works and has remained a repertoire favourite. Suor Angelica is the second installment in Puccini’s three one-act operas referred to as ‘Il Trittico’. The opera chronicles the fall, redemption and final transfiguration of its central character, Sister Angelica, who has taken the veil in repentance for having a child out of wedlock. The libretto, by Giovacchino Forzano, was immediately appealing to the composer, whose sister Igenia was Mother Superior at the convent at Vicepelago. Though it contains some of Puccini’s most adventurous writing (at times it even flirts with polytonality) the work has not enjoyed as much popularity as its companions Il Tabarro and Gianni Schicchi, both of which has enjoyed an independent life in the repertory.
