Anyone ever seen Puccini's Le Villi?

[MAB]

With Trittico at the Royal Opera and Giselle at the Royal Ballet, it set me wondering if any of our opera buffs had ever seen what is to all intents and purposes a sung version of Giselle.  It was Puccini's first opera and written in one act, though a few minutes longer the operas that make up Trittico.

 

I have a recording with Jose Cura singing the male lead and feel that music of that quality deserves more stage performances than it gets, if indeed it gets any at all.  So, anyone been lucky enough to see this opera staged?

[RuthE]

I wish.  It's the only Puccini opera I haven't seen; it was done a few years ago in London by Chelsea Opera Group in a concert performance, and then two years ago in Paris, also in concert, but I wasn't able to go to either.

[Paul Arrowsmith]

Yes - in Zurich, nearly 20 years ago in a double-bill with Pagliacci.

 

No memory of the cast or conductor - just lost of wilis interrupting proceedings in an aggressively contemporary way.

[MAB]

Thanks folks, I rather suspected I'll probably have to go further afield to see it.  A couple of years ago I visited the Puccini museum in Lucca in the house where he was born.  There was a fair bit of material relating to his first opera and that inspired me to buy the CD.   Would love to see it live but I dread the kind of production it would probably be lumbered with. 

[RuthE]

I'm afraid this is another concert rather than a staging, but Scottish Opera have just announced that they will perform Le villi next year as part of their Sunday-afternoon concert series in Glasgow:

 

https://www.scottishopera.org.uk/our-operas/our-operas/16-17/the-sunday-series-1617

[alison]

Sorry to bring this thread down to earth with a bump, but I've just remembered that villi are also the finger-like protuberances along the walls of the intestine.  I'm not sure whether there's any link