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Opera Music Plot Synopsis
Puccini: Gianni Schicchi

The scene is the richly decorated bedchamber of Buoso Donati, a wealthy
aristocrat of Florence who has just died. The time is 9 o'clock in the morning
of September 1, 1299. Eight of Buoso's distant relatives are kneeling in fervent
prayer at his bedside: his old cousin Simone; another elderly cousin Zita; his
shabby brother-in-law Betto of Signa; Simone's son and daughter-in-law Marco and
La Ciesca; Zita's nephew Rinuccio; and Buoso's nephew Gherardo with his wife
Nella. Gherardino, the 7-year-old son of Gherardo and Nella is intent on playing
marbles. Their ostentatious prayers and sobs of commiseration for poor Buoso are
interrupted by the crash of a chair knocked over by Gherardino, and the other
relatives use this excuse to shush Betto, the poor relation from Signa, who they
feel is overdoing it. As the relatives vie in their displays of grief for the
departed, a whispered tale begins to make its way from one incredulous relative
to the other, that it is rumored in Signa... Zita, the old woman, demands loudly
to know what is being said in Signa, and Betto repeats the rumor that Buoso
Donati has left everything to the friars of a monastery. At this, the relatives
become quite alarmed, and turn to old Simone, the podestà of Fucecchio, for
advice. After some thought, Simone tells them that if the will is in the hands
of a lawyer, there is nothing that can be done, but that if the will is still in
Buoso's house, there might be hope.
There now ensues a frantic search in which the entire bedchamber is turned
inside out. Rinuccio exclaims that his hopes for the future with his beloved
Lauretta depend on his uncle's will. First one relative, then another, cries out
as they think they have found the will, only to be immediately disappointed.
Betto profits from the general confusion to steal a silver tray, seal, and
scissors which he secretes in his shabby coat. At last Rinuccio, having climbed
a ladder to reach the very top drawer of a chest and pry it open, triumphantly
announces that he has found the will of Buoso Donati. Reminding his aunt that
they will all now be immensely wealthy, he asks her to consent to his marriage
to Lauretta on the first of May; the other relatives are impatient, but he is
insistent, and Zita gruffly replies that if all turns out as they hope, he may
marry whomever he pleases. He hands her the will and then takes young Gherardino
aside: he sends the child to run fetch Gianni Schicchi and his daughter Lauretta
to come to his assistance. Meanwhile, Zita, searching in vain for the silver
scissors that Betto stole, finally tears open the parchment roll containing the
will with her fingers. The relatives begin to read the will. It commences with a
few token gifts to Buoso's cousins, for which all loudly praise and commend
Buoso's memory. But they have not yet got to the main part of the inheritance:
Buoso's house in Florence, the mills of Signa, and his prize mule. As they go on
reading the will silently, mouthing the words, their faces gradually assume a
more concerned, then shocked, then a genuinely tragical expression. Zita drops
into a chair, letting the will fall to the floor. They remain for a moment in a
state of shock.
Simone is the first to move; seeing the three candles, he blows them out. He
lowers the bed curtains completely and snuffs out the the other candles. Slowly,
the other relatives move toward different chairs and sit down. There they stay,
like graven images, eyes wide open and staring straight ahead. "So it was true",
Simone suddenly exclaims, with stifled rage, "we will see the friars fattening
themselves on the wealth of the Donati's!" The other relatives furiously chime
in that the friars will feast while they go hungry. Betto must continue to drink
beer of Signa while the friars enjoy fine wines. Rinuccio's hopes of happiness
are to be dashed for the holy works of Santa Reparata. Gradually their fury
mounts. They rise from their chairs, frantically moving about the room, cursing,
and breaking into fits of sardonic laughter that explode like the cries of the
damned. They feverishly describe the imagined feasting and mocking of the
friars. At last, their frenzy having reached a climax, they slowly sink down
exhausted. Some of them are now weeping. "Who would have thought that when Buoso
went to the cemetery we would be crying real tears?" comments Zita bitterly.
Then a thought begins to take hold: if only it were possible, to suppress the
will, to forge one... They turn to Simone, the oldest, who was once podestÕ of
Fucecchio, for advice, but he gestures that it is hopeless.
"There is only one person who can advise us, perhaps save us," exclaims
Rinuccio. "Who?" cry the relatives. "Gianni Schicchi!" At this they all express
their disillusion. Zita furiously tells Rinuccio never to speak to her again of
Gianni Schicchi or his daughter. Just then Gherardino runs in, out of breath,
announcing that he is coming. "Who?" they all ask. "Gianni Schicchi!" The
relatives grumble that this is a fine time for him to show up, and Gherardo
takes Gherardino, spanks him, and throws him into the upstairs room. Zita and
Simone berate Rinuccio for even contemplating marriage between a Donati and the
daughter of a peasant, an immigrant from the countryside; Zita will have nothing
further to do with him. At this, Rinuccio tells them they are mistaken, that
Schicchi is clever and cunning, that he knows all the laws and all the tricks,
that he can solve any problem. What does it matter if he came from the country?
Enough of this petty pride! Florence is like a flowering tree ("Firenze è come
un albero fiorito"), gathering its strength and splendor from roots that spread
far. The sweet song of the great Arno in the Piazza Santa Croce draws all the
streams together. So are the arts and sciences of splendid Florence enriched:
Arnolfo came from the Val'd'Elsa to build his beautiful tower; Giotto from the
woods of Mugel, and the adventurous Medicis! Enough of petty spite and malice;
long live the new folk and Gianni Schicchi! Rinuccio's stirring paean, set in
the form of a stornello, a traditional Tuscan song, falls on deaf ears.
A knock is heard: Rinuccio opens the door, and Gianni Schicchi enters, followed
by Lauretta. Gianni stops on the threshold and looks marvelingly on the desolate
faces of the relatives. "What a picture of sorrow," he remarks, as Lauretta and
Rinuccio begin to whisper to each other. Gianni slowly advances into the
bedchamber and sees the candelabras around the bed. Evidently Buoso is departed;
but why such weeping? The relatives are over-acting. In a voice of mock
solemnity he starts to console them. After all, there is always some good to be
found in anything: they have lost Buoso, but there is the inheritance... "Sure!
for the Friars!" says Zita, scornfully telling him that it is none of his
business and he can take his daughter and get out, that she will not give her
nephew to someone without a dowry. Rinuccio and Lauretta start to plead; Gianni
remonstrates with Lauretta for having no pride. He taunts the old woman for
sacrifing his daugher and her nephew for a dowry. A scene ensues among the four,
Gianni and Zita trying to drag Lauretta and Rinuccio, respectively, apart, while
the other relatives begin grumbling that they should stop quarelling and think
about the will. Gianni is just pulling Lauretta to the door when Rinuccio stops
him, begging him to help them out with the will. Gianni angrily points to the
relatives: "To help these people? Never! Never! Never!"
At this point Lauretta sinks to her knees and begins to wheedle her father in a
celebrated and highly artificial arietta ("Oh! mio babbino caro"). She
desperately wants to marry Rinuccio, and if their love is in vain she will throw
herself off the Ponte Vecchio into the Arno. She is tormented, and only wants to
die. Weeping, she begs her daddy to have pity on her.
Resignedly, Gianni asks Rinuccio for the will. As he is absorbed in reading it
he paces back and forth, and the relatives follow him, first with their gazes,
then unconsciously pacing behind him. Simone, however, remains seated, shaking
his head incredulously. Suddenly Schicchi stops and announce that nothing can be
done. The relatives turn away, but Lauretta and Rinuccio begin to bid a sad (and
loud) farewell to their hopes. At this, Gianni begins once more to pace about
scrutinizing the will. Again he says that nothing can be done, the relatives sit
down disgusted, and Rinuccio and Lauretta repeat their farewells. Suddenly
Gianni thunders out "However...!" The relatives jump to their feet and the two
lovers change their tune: perhaps they will still be married in May! The
relatives crowd round Gianni with great anxiety, as he stands still in the
center of the room, motioning them to be quiet and gazing straight ahead.
Gradually he begins to smile triumphantly. Ignoring the relatives, who can
hardly stand the suspense, he tells his daughter, in a child-like voice, to go
out on the terrace and feed the little bird- alone, he adds, preventing Rinuccio
from following her.
As soon as Lauretta has gone out, Gianni turns to the relatives. Does anyone
outside the room know that Buoso has died? he asks the relatives. No one, they
answer, and he warns them that no one is to be told. Suddenly seized by a doubt
he asks about the servants, but Zita assures him that no one has entered the
room since the onset of the final illness. Gianni then tells Marco and Gherardo
to remove the body to the adjoining room. Simone, Betto, and Rinuccio are
instructed to hide the candelabras, and the hesitant women are ordered to remake
the bed. Suddenly there is a knock at the door and all stop, startled. Zita says
to Gianni that it is Master Spinelloccio the doctor. Gianni tells the relatives
to keep the doctor from entering, to tell him that Buoso is better and is
resting. The relatives crowd round the door, letting it open only a crack.
Gianni hides himself behind a curtain on the opposite side of the room, and
Betto closes the window shutters.
In a nasal voice and a Bolognese accent, the doctor asks to be admitted. The
relatives greet him and assure him that Buoso is better. The doctor asks if he
has had his enema, and is assured. Delighted, he moves to see the patient, but
is prevented by the relatives, who tell him that Buoso is resting. Suddenly
Gianni speaks to the doctor in a trembling imitation of Buoso Donati. At the
sound of his voice the relatives start with fright, but soon understand that it
is Gianni imitating the dead man. In his fright, however, Betto has dropped the
silver tray. The old woman picks it up and puts it back on the table, glaring
menacingly at Betto. Gianni continues to assure the doctor that he is feeling
better and wishes to rest: he feels like he has been resurrected. Pleased, the
doctor comments that even his voice sounds better. Boasting that his patients
never die, the doctor is gradually forced out the door by the relatives. The
relatives close the door and turn to Gianni who comes out from behind the
curtains. Betto opens the shutters and the room is again lit. In his own voice,
Gianni asks the relatives if he sounded just like Buoso, and they assure him
that he did. Victory! he exclaims, and then to the relatives, who still don't
understand, what dunces!
Hurriedly, Gianni describes his plan to the relatives: they will call a notary,
telling him that Buoso Donati is dying and wants to draw up a will. When the
notary comes, the room will be dimly lighted, and the figure of Buoso Donati
will be dimly seen in the bed, almost completely covered by nightcap, kerchief,
only his nose (which Schicchi's resembles) being visible. Gianni will lie in
bed, imitating Buoso's voice, and dictate a new will. What a tremendous prank!
he exclaims, as, choked with emotion, the relatives crowd around him, kissing
his hands and his garments, wildly calling out to him and to each other in a
sudden love-feast. Gianni sends Rinuccio for the notary as the relatives
continue to kiss and hug each other with great effusion.
Simone asks Gianni how the estate is to be divided- the money, for example. "In
equal portions!" shout the other relatives, as Gianni nods in agreement. Now the
relatives begin to make special requests for the various country properties:
those in Fucecchio to Simone, of course, for Zita the ones in Figlini, those in
Prato to Betto, the lands of Empoli to Gherardo and Nella, and those of Quintole
to Marco and La Ciesca. But there still remain the choicest properties: the
mule, Buoso's house, and the mills of Signa. Artlessly, Simone suggests that as
he is the oldest and the podestà of Fucecchio, they should fall to him, but the
others shout him down, loudly insisting on their own claims as Gianni Schicchi
mockingly recalls their short-lived familial love.
The pandemonium is suddenly interrupted by the tolling of a funeral bell. The
relatives are shocked: How did anyone know that Buoso is dead? Gherardo rushes
downstairs. At this moment of crisis, Lauretta steps in from the terrace to tell
Gianni that the little bird wants nothing more to eat. Testily, Gianni orders
her to offer it something to drink, and she dutifully goes out again. Gherardo
returns, panting and out of breath, and tries to motion that there is no cause
for alarm. Recovering his breath, he tells them that an accident befell the
blackamoor of the lord captain, and the others cheerfully recite a requiescat in
pace.
With an air of authority, Simone suggests that the division of the prizes be
left to the justice and honesty of Schicchi, and the relatives agree with
alacrity. Gianni agrees, and asks for the nightclothes. The women go to the
wardrobe and bring out a night-cap, a nightgown, and a lace kerchief for Gianni
Schicchi to put on. The relatives' reasons for their ready agreement now become
apparent, as first one and then another slyly approaches Gianni Schicchi to
offer him ever greater bribes if he will leave them the mule, the house, and the
mills of Signa. Gianni quietly tells each one not to worry, and each moves off
delightedly to savor their triumph, gleefully rubbing their hands. Meanwhile,
Gianni has managed to put on the night clothes and stands making faces and
admiring himself in a mirror. The three women gather round him and admire him
comically, singing a delightfully seductive trio. Simone remains at the window,
watching for the arrival of the notary. Gherardo clears a writing table, while
Marco and Betto draw the bedcurtains and tidy up the room. Finally, the
relatives push Gianni toward the bed, but he stops them with a solemn gesture.
``First, a warning! You know the proclamation?'' he says. Anyone who substitutes
names in wills and bequests is to be punished by having their hand chopped off,
and then exiled. This applies to accomplices as well. ``Think well, if we should
be discovered,'' he warns the relatives. Pointing to Arnolfo's Tower which can
be seen behind the terrace, he begins to sing a haunting little tune:
``Farewell, Florence, I wave farewell with this stump, I will wander as a
Ghibelline.'' He raises his handless arm as he sings, and all the relatives,
looking out the window at Florence and blanching, repeat the song exactly. Then
a knock at the door is heard, Gianni jumps into the bed, the relatives hastily
help arrange him, draw the shutters to darken the room, place a candle by the
table where the lawyer will write, and finally open the door. Rinuccio enters,
announcing the Master Amantio, the notary, who is accompanied by Pinellino, the
cobbler, and Guccio, the dyer. In an affected voice, Gianni Schicchi greets
them, and they are much moved. The notary takes parchment and seals from his bag
and places them on the table. He seats himself while the two witnesses remain
standing at his side.
Gianni Schicchi excuses himself for being unable to write the will himself,
pleading paralysis. He raises his trembling hands and the relatives make a show
of pity. The notary swears the witnesses, then inquires about the relatives, but
Gianni Schicchi assures him that they may remain. The notary then begins to read
the Latin preamble to the will, mumbling rapidly so that only his own name and
that of Buoso Donati can be heard clearly. Gianni Schicchi continues in Latin,
formally revoking any previous testament, and the relatives applaud his
forethought. The notary discreetly inquires as to the presumably splendid
funeral arrangements, but Gianni says that he wants them to spend no more than
two florins, and the dying man's humility is again applauded by the relatives.
He bequeaths to the little friars of Santa Reparata (at this the relatives rise
up terrified)- five lire. The relatives sit down again, breathe easy, and praise
his devout beneficence, but the notary again discreetly inquires as to whether
that might be too little. Gianni replies that if he should leave a great deal to
the church he would seem to be making amends for having stolen his wealth, and
again the relatives commend his wisdom and sagacity. He then divides Buoso's
gold equally among the relatives, and as requested he bequeaths the properties
at Fucecchio to Simone, those at Figlini to Zita, etc., and is dutifully
thanked.
``Now we come to the mule, the house, and the mills,'' the relatives murmur
through their teeth. ``I leave the mule, which cost 300 florins, and which is
the best mule in Tuscany, to my devoted friend Gianni Schicchi!'' At this, the
relatives jump up in disbelief, but Rinuccio now steals away to rejoin Lauretta
on the terrace. As the notary calmy transcribes this last bequest into Latin,
the relatives begin to remonstrate. ``Of what use is this mule to Gianni
Schicchi?'' Simone asks, but the pretended Buoso reassures them that he knows
what Gianni Schicchi desires. The relatives grumblingly berate him. In like
manner Gianni Schicchi wills himself the house in Florence, and the relatives
cannot contain their fury, crying out against the scoundrel Gianni Schicchi, but
Schicchi begins again to sing his exile's farewell to Florence. At this sharp
reminder of their legal situation the relatives are subdued. The notary
reprimands them for interfering, and Gianni Schicchi takes the opportunity to
affirm the soundness of his mind and the firmness of his intentions. At last he
leaves the the mills of Signa, between snatches of his farewell to Florence, to
his devoted friend, amid cries of helpless protest from the relatives, Gianni
Schicchi, and with a significant gesture of his arm announces that the will is
final.
Gianni Schicchi now asks Zita to give twenty florins to the witnesses and a
hundred to the notary. The notary approaches the bed to thank him, but he is
waved away with a gesture of Gianni's trembling hand. Slowly and with great show
of sorrow and emotion the notary and the witnesses depart. The moment they are
out the door, the relatives turn on Gianni Schicchi with repressed fury,
screaming that he is a thief and a scoundrel. He tries to defend himself as they
tear the nightshirt from him. Jumping out of the bed, Gianni seizes Buoso's
stick, raining blows on the relatives, who meanwhile run around the room,
looting and stealing all that they can lay their hands on- linens, silver,
furnishings. Gianni chases the relatives out of what is now his house, trying to
recover some of the loot as they make their way toward the door, loaded down
with as much as they can carry. Gianni runs out after them, still brandishing
the stick. From outside, the relatives cries of ``Thief, traitor, villain!'' and
Gianni's shouts of ``Out! Out!'' continue to resound in the distance.
The windows on the terrace now open, revealing Florence bathed in sunshine,
behind the two lovers who stand embracing. Lauretta and Rinuccio sing of the
beauty of golden Florence, of their first kiss, where they pledged their love,
and how Florence appeared as Paradise. They embrace. Gianni Schicchi now returns
to the bedchamber, laden with the recovered furnishings which he dumps on the
floor. Suddenly seeing the two lovers, he is moved. He smiles, takes off his
hat, and turns to address the audience in a spoken epilogue:
Tell me, gentlemen, if Buoso's wealth could have gone to better ends than
this? For this prank, I have been condemned to the Inferno, and so be it; but
with all due respect to the great father Dante, if you have been amused, grant
me extenuating circumstances!
He makes a motion of applause and bows to the audience.