Trabarro is set on a barge, and the young wife is out of love with Michele the husband who is twice her age. She is having an affair with one of the stevedores, Luigi. There is a lot of soul-searching, but at the end, the husband discovers Luigi and kills him and then reveals the dead body to Gorgetta. The second opera is set in a nunnery, and it is very strict. Sister Angelica is happy but she has a sad secret. She keeps thinking about the son that she left behind seven years ago with her family. She is also an expert with herbal medicines. A rich princess turns up who is in fact her aunt and head of the family to announce that her sister is due to be married. She has a document which is to try to disinherit Angelica from any claim. She points out to Angelica that her son died two years ago. She then departs. Angelica is so racked with grief that eventually she takes one of her own herbal poisons and dies, with her body going to heaven and meeting her son. This is very cleverly done with the son being photographically displayed, not a boy running onto the stage.
We met with the Harms at half time.
