Venturing into rarities of the operatic repertoire, Endangered Productions presents two works with words and music by 20th-century composers Leonard Bernstein and Ferruccio Busoni.

Busoni’s Arlecchino and Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti are pocket-sized one-act productions, commenting remorselessly on the nature of relationships and material aspirations.

Directed by Christine Logan and supported by a substantial team of creatives and crew, the cast of 12 singers performs with an onstage 14-piece orchestra conducted by Peter Alexander with costumes by Bianca De Nicola and sets by Zahra Babaye.

Ferruccio Busoni is more famous as a pianist, notably his transcriptions of JS Bach’s pieces for piano, than for his operas. In fact, he wrote four of them.

Arlecchino premiered in Zurich in 1917. Harlequin, the central character, comes from the Italian tradition of commedia dell’arte. He is witty and brilliance, mercurial and capricious. Busoni initially subtitled his manuscript eine Marionetten-Tragödie, a clue to the style of what he wanted to produce.

The four movements of Arlecchino are set in a street scene behind which is poised the tailoring shop of Ser Matteo del Sarto played by bass-baritone Ed Suttle, who wishes for nothing more than to...