Cavalleria Rusticana  by Pietro Mascagni
Pagliacci  by Ruggero Leoncavallo

These two  short late 19^th century “verismo” operas are traditionally performed back to back. They are about ordinary people ,one centred on a Sicilian village the other on a circus troupe travelling through Catalabria  and are both stories of passionate jealousies which lead to violent tragic deaths.

Dennis O’Neill (tenor) plays Turiddu in Cavallera and Canio in Pagliacci. I felt his performance as Canio was particularly moving expressing the frustration and bitterness of an older man , about to be deserted by his younger beautiful wife, in the famous aria “vesti la giubba”(on with motley). Delphine Gillot(soprano)played Nedda  his wife and vivaciously sang  “Stridono lassu” (forever flying through the boundless sky). Marianna Tarasova (soprano)played Santuzza in Cavalleria and the tonal quality of her singing was most evident in the impassioned “voi lo sapete, o mamma” (mother you know the story) This is where she explains to Turiddus’ mother she has been his mistress , is pregnant and he has deserted her for Alfios wife. She deserved the strong applause she received at the curtain calls.

Jason Howard as Alfio in Cavalleria and Tonio in Pagliacci and Pavel Baransky as Silvio must be mentioned. The love duet between Silvio and Nedda was one of the highlights of the evenings performance.

The sets, staging and lighting particularly in Cavalleria created a near perfect ambiance of a Sicilian village.A wealth of religious fervour being in evidence with numbers of priests ,choirboys, altar servers and nuns going about their Easter duties. The excellent hymn singing off stage by the Chorus adding to the atmosphere. 

As we have come to expect the WNO orchestra under Carlo Rizzi complimented and enhanced the singing with a highly professional performance.

An enjoyable evening that's not to be missed 

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