Woody Allen is taking an operatic turn

Filmmaker Woody Allen will make his opera directing debut with Puccini's comedy "Gianni Schicchi" to open the Los Angeles Opera's 2008-09 season, the company announced Thursday.

Allen's staging will be part of a new production of Puccini's "Il Trittico," a trio of one-act operas. The production will run for seven performances beginning Sept. 6, 2008. Director William Friedkin will stage the other two works, "Il Tabarro" (The Cloak) and "Suor Angelica" (Sister Angelica). James Conlon will conduct.

Friedkin directed "Gianni Schicchi" for L.A. Opera in 2002 on a double bill with Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle." But the sets and costumes for Allen's staging will be new.

"I have no idea what I'm doing," Allen said in a statement, "but incompetence has never prevented me from plunging in with enthusiasm."