Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci (CD Album) – Pietro Mascagni

This is where two one-hit-wonders of nineteenth-century Italian operas meet. Mascagni’s ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ was first performed in Rome in 1890 and Leoncavallo’s ‘Pagliacci’ in Milan two years later. The subject of ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ is based on a then very popular peasant tragedy by Giovanni Verga. ‘Pagliacci’ draws on the play ‘La femme de Tabarin’ by Catulle Mendes, with the libretto by the composer. Both operas premiered on 29 September, 2018 at the Oper Graz with the Grazer Philharmoniker under the direction of Oksana Lyniv.