The Elon Opera Workshop gives two performances this week of Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, one of the most beloved comic operas in history. Tickets to the April 7 & 9 shows are available to the public at the door for $7 or are free with an Elon ID.
Twenty-five Elon University students are involved in the production, which includes an orchestral reduction. The plot revolves around a wealthy Florentine family, motivated by greed, that employs a shrewd citizen to help them gain the inheritance they feel they deserve.
Gianni Schicchi takes place at Holy Comforter Episcopal Church (320 East Davis Street, Burlington) at 7:30 p.m. both evenings.
The Elon Opera Workshop schedules performances every two years and will be accepting donations on Thursday and Saturday, said associate professor Hallie Hogan, the workshop’s faculty coordinator. Students have also done fundraising to help grow the Workshop, she said.
“We’re working on developing the Elon Opera Workshop so that we can have a production every year,” Hogan said. “This is the first time we’ve ever done anything of this scope. … We’re really excited about this because it’s fully costumed, we have an orchestra, and we’ve never done a production like this in the music department.”