Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana; Leoncavallo: Pagliacci
Royal Opera House, 30th November 2023
Anna The verismo twins Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci are back, fatally entwined since 1893, when Pietro Mascagni and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s one-act operas first shared a double bill. Their deadly embrace is locked even tighter in Damiano Michieletto’s Olivier award-winning production at Covent Garden, where action from one opera spills over into the other, set in the same crime-riddled Sicilian village: Nedda and Silvio’s passion is ignited in Cav’s intermezzo, while in Pag’s the pregnant Santuzza is reconciled with the grieving Mamma Lucia. It’s little strokes of genius such as this that make Michieletto’s staging one of the most reliable in the Royal Opera’s stable.
Roberto Alagna (Turiddu) and Royal Opera Chorus
© ROH | Marc Brenner