How Willer-Most wants to save Puccini’s honor

The three-part opera “Il Trittico” will be shown in provocative order at the Salzburg Festival from July 29 – will you also be freed from the accusation of kitsch there? Conductor Welser-Möst tells “Presse” how he wants to do it.

I strongly suspect that the consumption of napkins will be very high in the end,” said Franz Welser-Most with a laugh, bringing his personal experiences from rehearsal to the Salzburg Festival premiere Puccini Tritiko is at the heart of the matter. In any case, the finale of “Angelika Sister” made everyone involved cry, “except for Asmik Grigorian,” says Welser-Möst, “because she already has a lot to do at the moment.”

“Suor Angelica”, the central work of the so-called trio of Puccini, is one of the most delicate tasks in the opera repertoire. “The accusation of kitsch is always up in the air,” the conductor said when asked about the notorious backlash from music fans. It is suspected that Puccini in general and “Sister Angelica” in particular are romantically involved. The festival wants to confront this decisively. For Asmik Grigorian, who became an overnight world star in Salzburg in 2018 with “Salome”, the three-part opera was included in the program and the middle part was moved to the end.