Cavalleria Rusticana

For the premiere of his Cavalleria rusticana in 1889, Pietro Mascagni had to make a whole series of cuts and transpositions: The chorus at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome was not up to the demanding choral parts, and the soloists of Santuzza and Turiddu sometimes complained that their parts were uncomfortably high – and so the composer not only deleted large parts of the choral passages, but also changed his carefully thought-out key concept. Nonetheless, the piece was such a resounding success at its premiere that it continued to be performed in modified form – even after the piece had long since begun its triumphal march around the world.

Stage Director Giancarlo del Monaco (the son of the famed dramatic tenor, Mario) flat-out rejects the notion that Cavalleria rusticana or Pagliacci should be performed with anything except each other. In an interview included on this Opus Arte Blu-ray release, del Monaco emphatically notes that these operas represent “the fundamental diptych of realist theater;” that they are “two sides of the same coin.” As with many other productions, del Monaco presents Pagliacci ’s Prologue before the Mascagni work, Tonio appearing in the midst of the audience to underscore that the verismo evening ahead is meant to connect to everyone’s real-world experience. A seamless integration of the two dramas is further highlighted when Turridu’s lifeless body is driven off the stage just as the first chords of Pagliacci are sounding.

"[Cavalleria Rusticana:] Bergonzi is a stylish, ardent Turiddu whose virile charms glitter in his every phrase and Fiorenza Cossotto makes a thrilling Santuzza motivated and driven by a palpable conviction; (...) But the real hero of the opera is Karajan, whose direction of this powerful work is magnificent. (…) [Pagliacci:] As the rivals, Carlo Bergonzi and Giuseppe Taddei are superb. Taddei’s sinister, hunch-backed clown, gently forcing the play-within-the-play closer to reality until it finally bursts out violently is a masterly assumption, and Karajan controls the slow build-up of tension with a grasp that few conductors could equal. (…) The third disc is filled by a selection of very rich, very soft-centred opera intermezzos."

Gramophone Good CD Guide

As comparably short operas Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci are often billed together, but seldom is the lead tenor making his double role debut as Turiddu and Canio on the same evening. At the 2015 Salzburg Easter Festival Jonas Kaufmann did just that – to rapturous praise. Universally hailed as a coup for Kaufmann, plaudits were also showered on Philipp Stölzl for his innovative compartmentalized staging which included live video projections while referencing the era of black-and-white movies.