CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA
Opera in one act
Music by Pietro Mascagni
Libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti & Guido Menasci
PAGLIACCI
Opera in one act
Music and Libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo
Two operas, two betrayed husbands, two tragic ends. In Cavalleria rusticana the calm of a Sicilian Easter morning is broken by a betrayed lover who sets off a chain of events ending in violent tragedy. In true theatrical tradition Pagliacci's clown tries to go on the show, but his real -life humiliation and despair lead to a grim climax. The violent passions and raw emotions of these two works changed the direction of Italian opera forever.