Works: L’heure espagnole by Maurice Ravel / Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini
Streaming platform: OperaVision
Where: Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (Valencia)
Orchestra: Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana
Conductor: Michele Spotti
Stage direction: Moshe Leiser & Patrice Caurier
Recording date: 2 May 2025
Streaming available from: 13 June 2025 at 19:00 CET
Available until: 13 December 2025 at 12:00 CET
Languages: Sung in French (L’heure espagnole) and Italian (Gianni Schicchi)
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Italian
Watch: Available on OperaVision (link placeholder)
L’heure espagnole
Main characters:
• Concepción – Eve-Maud Hubeaux
• Gonzalve – Iván Ayón Rivas
• Torquemada – Mikeldi Atxalandabaso
• Ramiro – Armando Noguera
• Don Íñigo – Manuel Fuentes
Music: Maurice Ravel
Libretto: Franc-Nohain
Gianni Schicchi
Main characters:
• Gianni Schicchi – Ambrogio Maestri
• Lauretta – Marina Monzó
• Rinuccio – Iván Ayón Rivas
• Zita – Elena Zilio
• Betto di Signa – Manuel Fuentes
• Simone – Giacomo Prestia
• Nella – Holly Brown
Music: Giacomo Puccini
Libretto: Giovacchino Forzano
🎭 Moto Plays recommends: Two short operas full of wit and irony, streaming for free from Valencia’s Palau de les Arts on OperaVision.
In L’heure espagnole, Ravel transforms a risqué tale of secret lovers and ticking clocks into a sparkling farce. Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, on the other hand, opens with death and inheritance—but what follows is a witty game of deceit, money, and disguise.
Staged together in this new production, both works shine under the direction of Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, known for their inventive and modern takes on the operatic repertoire. Michele Spotti leads the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana in a cast that combines seasoned stars like Ambrogio Maestri and Marina Monzó with rising singers from the Palau’s Opera Studio.
The elegant textures of Ravel and the biting brilliance of Puccini make this double bill a perfect blend of French charm and Italian theatricality. Available with subtitles in four languages, this is a rare opportunity to enjoy two early 20th-century gems from home.
Overview
L’heure espagnole
Set in a clockmaker’s shop in Toledo, this one-act opera follows Concepción, the clockmaker’s wife, as she attempts to juggle several lovers while her husband is away. Each suitor ends up hiding inside a grandfather clock, creating a comical game of entrances, exits, and shifting affections. Ravel’s music sparkles with wit and rhythmic elegance, offering a farcical look at desire and timing.
Gianni Schicchi
In Florence, the death of the wealthy Buoso Donati sparks panic among his relatives when they learn they’ve been cut out of the will. They call on the clever (and lower-class) Gianni Schicchi to impersonate the dead man and create a new will. But Schicchi has plans of his own. Puccini’s only comedy is fast-paced and sharp, culminating in the famous aria “O mio babbino caro.”
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