First, a major gripe. In the October issue I reviewed Il tabarro from the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, part of Denis Krief’s new production of Il trittico yet released all by itself. Fearing that Dynamic would also issue the other two operas in Puccini’s triptych separately, I concluded: ‘Surely even Dante’s old swindler Schicchi wouldn’t be quite as audacious?’ Well, chain me to the Ponte Vecchio and call me Giacomo, but they’ve only gone and done it. Three operas, none more than an hour long, on three separate DVDs will set you back the sum total of £60, when you can buy the (far classier) Royal Opera Trittico for £25. Daylight robbery.

Filmed in November 2019, Krief’s production – a co-production with Teatro Lirico di Cagliari and the Teatro del Giglio di Lucca – is a low-budget affair. The Maggio is in straitened times and lavish stagings are beyond its means, but the simple set unifies the three operas to a certain extent. The stage is framed by slanting wooden walls. The picture postcard of the Seine as the backdrop to Tabarro is replaced by the Ponte Vecchio for Schicchi. A grating gives the impression of a cloister for Suor Angelica while a trolley bearing pots of herbs serves as her dispensary.

Direction-wise, Krief plays Puccini with a straight bat. The sisters in Suor Angelica are all very nice, lacking individual character. Even Sister Genovieffa lacks her usual spark. Krief often forgets about the chorus, who mill around and observe, but he does draw two powerful central performances. María José Siri is a sincere Angelica, a role that suits her rather better than Giorgetta in Tabarro. Her dark spinto ensures that ‘Senza mamma’, Angelica’s lullaby on discovering that her child has died, hits the right emotional buttons. Anna Maria Chiuri is a frosty Zia Principessa, Angelica’s cold aunt who forces her to sign away any claim to her inheritance. The ending is handled simply, a young boy appearing, just out of reach of the dying Angelica (no hint of the Virgin Mary which the saccharine libretto states here).

In Schicchi, it’s simply a case of doing what it says in Giovacchino Forzano’s libretto and all will be well. It’s the perfect little operatic comedy and doesn’t require any poking about on the part of the director – the gags are all there in the score. The one thing that puzzles is that Krief has Lauretta, Schicchi’s sweet daughter, spy on his impersonation of the dying Buoso Donati to defraud the grasping relatives, when the whole point is that Schicchi sends her out on the balcony to feed the birds to protect her (in his eyes) innocence. Francesca Longari sings Lauretta’s ‘O mio babbino caro’ warmly, while Dave Monaco is an ardent Rinuccio. Chiuri snarls as a much younger Zita than we’re used to. Indeed, most of the Donati relatives are on the youthful side and their characters are less caricatured as a result. Bruno de Simone is a decent Schicchi, though, revelling in impersonating the dead Buoso, his robust baritone still in fine fettle.

Valerio Galli draws effective results from his Maggio players but he can’t match Antonio Pappano’s excellent conducting on the Royal Opera’s Opus Arte set. Boasting Ermonela Jaho’s gut-wrenching performance as Angelica and Lucio Gallo’s wily Schicchi, there really is little comparison to be made, especially when it’s less than half the price of the newcomer(s).