The aria Senza Mamma (Without your Mother), sung in the opera by Sister Angelica, is one of the most poignant moments in any of Puccini's works, and has remained a repertoire favourite. Suor Angelica is the second instalment in Puccini's triptych of one-act operas commonly known as Il trittico. The opera chronicles the fall, redemption, and final transfiguration of its central character, Sister Angelica, who has taken the veil in repentance for bearing a child out of wedlock. The libretto, by Giovacchino Forzano, was immediately appealing to the composer, whose sister Igenia was Mother Superior of the convent at Vicepelago. Though it contains some of Puccini's most adventurous writing (the musical language at times even flirts with polytonality) the work has not enjoyed popularity comparable to that of its companions, Il Tabarro and Gianni Schicchi, each of which has enjoyed an independent life in the repertory.
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