“Gianni Schicchi,” a one-act comic opera by Giacomo Puccini, will be performed by Wartburg College’s Opera Workshop Thursday and Saturday, Feb. 13 and 15.

The opera, directed and conducted by Dr. Brian Pfaltzgraff, associate professor of music, will be presented in its English translation in McCaskey Lyceum at 7:30 p.m. on both nights. Admission is a suggested $5 donation at the door.

The opera —incorporating comedy, romance and social commentary — is derived from  “Dante’s Inferno” and is based on an actual incident in Florence, Italy, in 1299.

“Our production will be sung in English, with piano accompaniment, so the audience will be able to participate in the humor Puccini was able to tease out of an entire family having been written out of their inheritances and the lengths to which they went to get back into the will,” Pfaltzgraff said.

The cast includes Wartburg students, faculty, alumni and community members.

“‘Gianni Schicchi’ is a perfect vehicle to introduce young singers to grand opera, as the cast performs in ensemble for most of the show,” Pfaltzgraff said. “They have been challenged by the experience and are performing difficult music at a high level.”

He called “Gianni Schicchi” “a smorgasbord of everything that makes Puccini’s music great, wrapped up in the context of the only comic opera he wrote. If a listener loves ‘La Bohème,’ they will hear similar music in this production.”