Roberto Alagna sang both of the lead tenor roles in this week's performances of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacciat the Met. These two one act operas which always seem to be paired together are by two different composers. Cavalleria Rusticana was composed by Pietra Mascagni, Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo.
Cavalleria Rusticana is the story of Turiddu, a man back from the war who finding Lola, his lady love now married to someone else seduces Santuzza and maintains a relationship with her. Apparently, the town did not take too highly to this unconventional relationshp because Santuzza has been excommunicated. Turiddu returns to the arms of his former love, Lola, much to the chagrin of his current paramour and of Lola's husband. The opera ends with a duel between Turiddu and Lola's husband in which Turiddu is killed.
I found the opera very slow moving as drama. This is partly due to the long orchestral introduction and long orchestral interludes as the opera continues. The words that are sung seem to be sparse and seem to describe more basic actions. I guess the phrase "soap opera" might apply here. There is none of the finely nuanced tension building that one finds in Tchaikovsky's "The Queen of Spades." There are some lovely orchestra pieces and at least one or two really lovely arias or choral pieces. In my opinion, the real value of this opera derives from these few musical selections.
Pagliacci is the opposite of Cavalleria Rusticana. It is Shakespearean in its sophistication. It features a play within a play. There is an intermingling of the plot of the play which the traveling acting troupe presents with the events that occur in real life. There is a comment on both by the clown, Tonio, who steps out outside of the curtain before it opens. Pagliacci does a far better job in dramatizing passion that did Cavalleria Rusticana. Pagliacci dramatizes the passion of fear between Canio and his wife, Nedda; the romantic passion between Nedda and her lover, Silvio; and the passions of unrequited love and humiliation between Nedda and Tonio. The passion that ultimately results in Canio killing Nedda and Silvio is built throughout the opera. Given the opera's one act length, this is no mean achievement. The opera features the famous aria "Vesti la giubba" in which Canio bitterly reflects that he must play the clown while his heart is breaking. Alagna was superb in dramatizing all of the emotions of the jilted and revenging husband and in carrying the part. To my ears, he rendered an engaging vocal performance.
