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Opera North / Pagliacci & Cavalleria Rusticana

@ Theatre Royal Newcastle

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An iconic Italian double-bill fuelled by fatal passion and filled with gorgeously lyrical melodies.
Pagliacci | Leoncavallo

The immediacy of the characters and the intensity of their emotions packed into such a short space of time make Pagliacci an elementally exciting experience.

This unashamedly over the top masterpiece marks the point in Leoncavallo’s career when his talents as both librettist and composer fully matched each other. In Pagliacci, he carves ‘a bleeding slice of life’ out of the unlikely story of a jealous husband, his unfaithful wife, her young lover, and a troupe of theatrical players.

It includes some of the most justly famous music ever written for an Italian opera, including the heartbroken Canio’s ‘show must go on’ aria ‘Vesti la giubba’.

This brand new production, conducted by Music Director Aleksandar Markovic, is directed and designed by Charles Edwards as the curtain-raiser for Opera North’s The Little Greats.

Cavalleria rusticana | Mascagni

With a score that includes the famous Easter Hymn and Intermezzo, Cavalleria rusticana remains for many the very essence of Italian opera.

Opera’s most celebrated overnight success, Cavalleria rusticana spearheaded the verismo movement (whose leading lights included Leoncavallo and Puccini) which demonstrated that ordinary people can have opera-sized emotions too.

Turiddù and Lola were once lovers; but when he left to join the army, Lola married another man. Although Turridù finds consolation in the arms of Santuzza, his obsessive passion for Lola still burns fiercely.

Thus the stage is set for a tale of faithlessness, jealousy and violence, set in a rural community where the church maintains an iron grip on the souls of its people.

Mascagni displays a masterly control of pacing in this, his first opera, conveying a taut, gritty drama through a succession of gorgeously lyrical melodies.

Running time: Approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.  Sung in Italian with English titles

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