Leoncavallo’s opera is based on a true story from Naples, Italy.
I haven’t taken one of those DNA tests, but I assure you my blood is full of olives and grapes because everyone on the bus in Naples when I visited Italy looked just like my grandpop. I just hope one of my ancestors wasn’t a sad clown. To channel the clucking machismo of the place, the women of Napoli strutted dark and sultry in light blouses.
There was a passion in the humidity.
The chemistry between Aleksandra Kurzak and Roberto Alagna is palpable. Kurzak’s overt sexuality could not only make Carmen blush, but has me warm under the collar in the audience. I wasn’t surprised to read that the two are married, the comfort of that intimacy was totally an ingredient on stage tonight and that chemistry made it a lot of fun. It makes the arching tragedy all the more satisfying and at the end – devastating.
So what’s Pagliacci all about? Canio is an actor who plays the clown Pagliacci on stage who’s wife is cheating on him. Life parallels art as Canio’s wife Nedda is cheating on him in real life with a man named Silvio. Stage life and real life will overlap in one of operas most shocking endings and closes with one of my favorite lines, “la Commedia e’ finite!”
What to listen for:
The French horn in Pagliacci’s theme
Vesti la giubba
Notes on the production:
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Composer………………………..Ruggero Leoncavallo
Canio/Pagliacci…………………Roberto Alagna
Nedda…………………………… Aleksandra Kurzak
Silvio…………………………….. Alessio Arduini
Tonio…………………………….. George Gagnidze
Conductor……………………… Nicola Luisotti
The Metropolitan Opera
2/1/2018