By the time he composed Il Trittico, Puccini was eager to explore new modes of musical expression. In the baritone’s impressive narrative in Il Tabarro, for example, the character stares into the river while his mind descends towards violence; the swirling waters, subtly depicted in the orchestra, act at once as scene painting and as psychological metaphor. Suor Angelica is a bold sonic experiment written exclusively for female voices. The title role is showcased in one of Puccini’s most organic, yet heart-rending, narratives (“Senza mamma”). The score of Gianni Schicchi is the work of a mature genius: seamless music whose ideas form and vanish as blithely as thoughts. Puccini’s gift for irresistible melody is also on display in the two discrete arias in Schicchi belonging to the young lovers.