KMFA Classical 89.5 welcomes The Butler Opera Center back to the Draylen Mason Music Studio for a special noontime preview of IL TRITTICO on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.

Enjoy an afternoon of delightful opera scenes performed by members of the Butler Opera Center Ensemble, curated by Butler Opera Center Director, Tamar Sanikdize.

• Music - Giacomo Puccini
• Libretto - Giuseppe Adami & Giovacchino Forzano
• Stage Directors
  • Il Tabarro - Yingmeige Xiong
  • Suor Angelica - Madison Jackson
  • Gianni Schicchi - Beatrice Huang
• Conductor - Douglas Kinney Frost
• Director, Producer, Principal Coach - Tamar Sanikdize

The full production will be held Friday, April 17 - Sunday, April 26, at McCullough Theater at The University of Texas. Tickets may be purchased here.

This preview concert is free and open to the public when you RSVP in advance online.

 

Like short stories, one-act operas pack a big punch! Puccini's last completed work was a triptych of these one-acts, telling three separate stories with one common theme: a hidden death. Il Tabarro tells the story of a love triangle on a French barge. When jealousy strikes, who will survive? Puccini then transports us to a convent in Suor Angelica, where we meet a young nun, sent away in shame after giving birth out of wedlock. When her aunt appears, will she deliver news of redemption, or bring about even more pain? Gianni Schicchi closes the trilogy with a musical farce of the highest order. A greedy family hires trickster Gianni Schicchi to rewrite the will of their wealthy patriarch, but does he really have their best interests in mind? All these characters, all these stories, all crafted by a composer at the pinnacle of his career. 

The Butler Opera Center ranks among the top opera programs in the United States. Under the direction of Tamar Sanikidze, the program prepares emerging vocalists, vocal coaches and opera stage directors for careers in music. Each year, while pursuing academic classes, graduate students participate in at least three fully-produced mainstage operas accompanied by a full orchestra. With a curriculum based in both the traditional operatic repertory and progressive contemporary works, the program attracts students and faculty from a diverse background. Enrollment for each degree is limited to ensure personalized, intensive performance and training opportunities for each student.