Il Tabarro is the first of three short operas that make up Puccini’s Il Trittico. The composer initially wanted to set Dante’s Divine Comedy to the operatic stage – an idea he would abandon and eventually transform into his triptych composed of Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. The strongest echoes of Dante remain in Gianni Schicchi, a character featuring in Canto 30 of the poet’s Middle Ages masterwork. In essence however, it is the desperate and despairing spirit of The Inferno that is felt most strongly in Il Tabarro. The opera tells the devastating story of dock workers fallen victim to an oppressive life caged upon a barge on the banks of the River Seine. Puccini and librettist Giuseppe Adami adapted Didier Gold’s play La Houppelande, which Puccini had seen in Paris, where it caused a sensation across the city. The play premiered at the scandalous Grand Guignol Theatre. A theatre known for shocking horror productions – something equivalent to modern day splatter films. But it was Puccini’s genius to see a story and world of immense richness and heart for these dock workers. The composer imagined beyond the schlocky vaudeville of the original play and wrote an opera brimming with passion, longing and moments of fledgling hope. It’s also interesting to hear the influence of the French composer Debussy in this work. One only has to listen to Debussy’s La Cathédrale Engloutie or The Sunken Cathedral alongside the opening of Il Tabarro to hear Debussy’s poetic impact on the Italian composer. Puccini wrote of Debussy in 1918, the year of the opera’s debut, that “Debussy had the soul of an artist, and most subtle perceptivity.” Artistic soul and subtleness are profound characteristics of Il Tabarro. Puccini wrote an impressionistic soundscape with characters that reverberate with relatability, flaw and heart. Puccini was particularly concerned with capturing the sea-soaked setting aboard a barge on the water. The composer explained, “Lady Seine should be the true protagonist of the drama.” So, we are absolutely delighted to have staged the opera on the waters by the Australian National Maritime Museum.