Placido Domingo revives Woody Allen Puccini opera

LOS ANGELES - Agence France-Presse

Domingo will take on his 146th role when he sings the title character of Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi" in a Woody Allen production on Sept. 12, the opening night of the Los Angeles Opera 2015-16 season. AP Photo

Placido Domingo will star in a return to Los Angeles of Woody Allen's first opera production, Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi," the opera house said Tuesday.
 
Allen first staged "Gianni Schicchi" at the Los Angeles Opera in 2008, adapting Puccini's work based on a side character in Dante's "Inferno" and transplanting the story to a more modern era with allusions to Italian cinema and a fast-paced comic style reminiscent of the director's films.
 
The British baritone Thomas Allen -- no relation to the director -- performed in the title role in 2008. Domingo will star in the latest staging of "Gianni Schicchi" at the Los Angeles Opera, which opens as the season debut on September 12.
 
The Spanish tenor, one of the world's most identifiable opera singers, is also performing in a production of Allen's "Gianni Schicchi" starting on June 30 at Madrid's Teatro Real.
 
The announcement came as the Los Angeles Opera unveiled its 2015-16 season, which marks the 30th anniversary of the company in its current version.
 
Domingo, who is the general director of the Los Angeles Opera, said in a statement that the company "crafted a season full of audience favorites" to mark the anniversary.
 
Other highlights of the season include a March 2016 concert of arias and duets between Domingo and another opera superstar, Renee Fleming. The Los Angeles Opera will also present "Moby-Dick," an opera by US composer Jake Heggie that premiered in 2010 and is based on Herman Melville's classic novel.
 
Woody Allen touched again on his love of Italian opera in his 2012 film "To Rome With Love."  

At age 79, Allen remains prolific and is planning to direct his own television show that will premiere in 2016 in a deal with online retail giant Amazon.