Although I have already conducted Cavalleria rusticana, here at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino I’m engaging for the first time with Pagliacci, and consequently with the pairing that has combined these two operas ever since they were performed together at the Metropolitan Theater, New York (in December 1893), enshrining them as an almost inseparable duo. This lasting combination, blessed by Mascagni himself when he conducted the double-bill at La Scala exactly one century ago, is no longer just a tradition but an aesthetic choice. And it seems to me that, when parted, the two operas are not always received with the same enthusiasm. This production, dreamt up by Carsen, and staged for the first time in Italy here at the Maggio, also has the virtue of inverting conventions, putting Pagliacci before Cavalleria, in an extremely subtle play between stage and audience, with the audacity of breaking the fourth wall with conviction and a steady hand. On the other hand, the music will follow the tracks so clearly laid down by Leoncavallo and Mascagni, the former with a refinement mindful of Wagner’s teaching, followed by the expressive power of the unprecedented popular force which poured into Mascagni’s work, rewarding the composer from Livorno with one of the most resoundingly successful works in the history of theatre.

On stage 22, 25, 28 February and 3 March (with the final performance broadcast live on Rai Radio 3).

Cover photo: Michele Monasta / Teatro del Maggio