What are the specific names of the first two operas for which, according to Gasco, many critics were waiting with their fists drawn?
In reviewing the New York premiere, the critics greeted Gianni Schicchi warmly; most reviewers found it to be the best of the three operas. New York Herald Tribune critic Henry Krehbiel described it as "so uproariously funny ... so full of life, humor, and ingenious devices". The New York Times reviewer James Huneker considered the opera to be "a rollicking, madcap scherzo, overflowing with merry deviltries ... And the last shall be first." Huneker praised De Luca as "a most engaging rascal, fit for a minor niche in Moliere's gallery". The Times critic was also amused by Marto Malatesta as "The 'Kid' Gherardino, who is spanked by the irate family".Rome's critics gave Il trittico as a whole a warmer reception, but still saw Gianni Schicchi as the best of the three. Alberto Gasco in La tribuna noted, "In terms of harmonic technique, Il tabarro and Schicchi advance quite startling elements of novelty. Nothing that contemporary art has produced escapes the studious and astute Giacomo Puccini." Gasco also stated that while many critics were waiting for the first two operas with their fists drawn, Gianni Schicchi disarmed these "hired assassins" with a "single glance". An anonymous reviewer in L'idea nazionale felt that the three works comprised a unified whole, but feared that Puccini was becoming less inventive. L'idea nazionale was a nationalist newspaper, and praised Puccini for returning to an Italian subject "after so many useless Japanese, American, Parisian digressions".Modern productions, including those in an updated context, have been generally well received. Describing the 2004 Glyndebourne pairing with The Miserly Knight as "flip sides of the same coin", reviewer Edward Seckerson in The Independent found the Schicchi performance "a triumph of ensemble directing and playing, ... wickedly observed, sharp, focussed and funny". The New York Times gave a positive review to the Woody Allen 2008 production, which is set in a crowded tenement in which the boy Gherardino is practising knife thrusts. However, the critic questioned Allen's altered ending, in which Schicchi is stabbed by Zita as he addresses the audience. Los Angeles Times critic Mark Swed deemed Allen's production one of the top ten moments in classical music for 2008, and applauded it for "hilarious wit and engaging musicality". Allen Rich of Variety praised the piece, though he disliked Allen's idea of beginning the opera with a montage of old film clips, with credits featuring mock-Italian names.
Schicchi Il tabarro