The DePaul Opera Theatre (DOT), under the direction of Harry Silverstein, will team up with British conductor William Lacey to present two contrasting one-act operas from Puccini’s “Il Trittico.”

The sentimental religious drama “Suor Angelica” will be paired with the bubbly family comedy “Gianni Schicchi,” considered by many to be the composer’s most brilliant score. Opening night is Friday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m., with a successive performance on March 15 at 7:30 p.m. and a matinee on March 16 at 2 p.m. at DePaul’s Merle Reskin Theatre, 60 E. Balbo Drive in Chicago.

As in past years—DOT has presented opera for more than two decades—this production of the double bill, “Suor Angelica” and “Gianni Schicchi,” will be sung in English and fully staged, complete with eye-catching costumes and sets. The principal singers, 12 in “Suor Angelica” and 15 in “Schicchi,” and 55 choristers are all members of DOT, which, under the stewardship of Silverstein, has become an increasingly successful training workshop for music students seeking a professional career in voice.

The 40-piece ensemble, drawn from DePaul’s Symphony Orchestra, will be led by Lacey, a young opera and orchestra conductor making his Chicago debut. Following these performances, Lacey will head to the Washington National Opera to conduct tenor Placido Domingo and countertenor David Daniels in a Handel rarity, “Tamerlano.” With his star on the rise, Lacy has, in the past year, received critical acclaim for his music making at the Santa Fe Opera and the New York City Opera, as well as in Ireland, Greece and The Netherlands.

Voice majors Olga Bojovic and Miroslawa Sojka-Toper alternate in the role of Sister Angelica. Jong Kim portrays the conniving yet lovable patriarch, Gianni Schicchi; Sara Ptak and Chelsea Shepard share the role of Schicchi’s daughter, Lauretta, whose aria, “O Mio Babbino Caro,” is one of the best loved melodies in all of opera. Ten members of the Chicago Children’s Choir complete the cast.

Puccini’s 12 operas contain some of the most beautiful vocal music ever written and carry the bel canto tradition of Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi into the 20th century. “Il Trittico,” a trilogy of short operas, is Puccini’s last complete work (“Turandot” remained unfinished at his death in 1924), and was premiered at New York’s Metropolitan Opera on Dec. 14, 1918. The drama of “Suor Angelica,” with its all-female cast, is a tale of guilt and mortal sin in which a nun takes her own life on hearing of the death of her child. The robust comedy of “Gianni Schicchi,” based on a brief passage from Dante’s “Inferno,” concerns a sly rogue who cheated the poet’s own relatives by marriage out of a substantial inheritance.

Tickets are on sale now at the Merle Reskin Theatre box office, or by calling 312-922-1999. Tickets are $20 and $25 for main floor, and $5 for balcony seats. Discounts are available for students, seniors, and groups of 15 or more. DePaul students and employees, with identification, are entitled to two free tickets if requested and picked up at the box office the day of a performance. For more information about DePaul music events, call the DePaul School of Music, 773-325-7260.