Could an opera season end with a more sumptuous bill-of-fare than two red-meat-with-hot-sauce Italian operas? I doubt it.
The MET Live in HD will present its final transmission at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. “Cav/Pag,” as the popular twinning is known, is a spicy twofer.
The Metropolitan Opera showcases a new production of Mascagni’s 1890 “Cavalleria Rusticana” (rustic chivalry) and Leoncavallo’s 1892 “Pagliacci” (a clown from the commedia del-arte tradition). It’s a natural pairing of tragedies involving love, passion, anger, abandonment and murderous rage – all fueled by village gossip.
To alleviate the tension in Cav, there’s a rousing drinking song. In Pag, there’s a play within a play. But both end badly. Jealous husbands will have their day.
Toward the end of the 19th century, verismo (realistic) opera became a wildly popular new genre. It replaced the highly artificial forms that came before by abandoning kings and mythological characters in favor of stories about ordinary, lower-class people – thieves, gypsies, prostitutes, and actors. Sordid and tragic plots replaced uplifting stories. Librettists dispensed with slow-moving action in favor of fast pacing. Composers tossed out technical displays of musical mastery in favor of simpler, more memorable melodies. To this day, the all-time popular centerpiece of verismo opera is Bizet’s “Carmen.”
Shortly after the success of “Carmen,” realistic operas surfaced and even inspired competitions. “Cavalleria” won a prestigious one-act competition in 1890 and made its premiere in Rome. It was an instant hit, and companies all over Europe began staging it.
“Pagliacci” followed, and the next year, two Broadway companies premiered the Cav/Pag double bill. In 1893, the Met paired “Pagliacci” with Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice.” By the mid-20th century, the Cav/Pag double bill regularly appeared on worldwide opera schedules.
From 1970 on, the realistically staged Franco Zeffirelli production dominated the Met’s stage. The Italian filmmaker’s concept became a beloved fixture at the Met, so it’s adventurous to create a new concept for the double bill.
The 2015 production, conceived by the British visionary Sir David McVicar, time travels to a Sicilian village circa 1900 for Cav and 1948 for Pag. The same setting makes sense as village mores play a role in fueling gossip, driving women to sour jealousy and propelling men to murder.
“Cavalleria” is based on a late 19th-century melodrama by Giovanni Verga. The original play starred Eleanor Duse, who portrayed Santuzza, the abandoned girlfriend who spreads lies about her former lover and the wife of another villager.
“Pagliacci” has a more elaborate plot that involves a troupe of traveling players who arrive in the same village 50 years later. When the play-within-a-play begins, the leader of the troupe is intent on revenge but isn’t clear who the cuckold is. In the end, Canio, the besieged husband (sung by Marcelo Alvarez, who also sings the doomed Turiddu in “Cavalleria”) murders his wife and her lover. Then he addresses the villagers simply by saying the comedy is over.
It’s a bitter story, but when you leave, you’ll be humming the tunes.
Sung in Italian with English subtitles. Running time: 3 hours, 30 minutes. Note the early start time at 10:30 a.m.
jreynolds@durangoherald.com. Judith Reynolds is a Durango writer, art historian and arts journalist.
If you go
The MET: Live in HD presents a double bill, Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” and Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci,” at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Vallecito Room of the Fort Lewis College Student Union. Tickets are $23 for general admission, $21 for seniors, students and MET members, and are available online at www.durangoconcerts.com, by phone at 247-7657, at the Welcome Center at Eighth Street and Main Avenue and at the door. Surcharges may apply. Running time: 3 hours, 30 minutes. Sung in Italian.
