Tag Archives: Pagliacci
Cav & Pag – Corelli and Tucker Alternate Roles
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 23rd February 2023Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci have been paired more often than Southwest Airlines has had recent on time flights. The two leading Italian style tenors at the Metropolitan Opera who sang the leading roles in these operas during the 1960s were Franco Corelli and Richard Tucker. Both had virile spinto tenors that…
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No! Pagliaccio Non Son
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th November 2020Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci was first performed at Milan’s Teatro Dal Verme in 1892 – Arturo Toscanini conducted. It rapidly spread throughout the operatic world and like its frequent partner, Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, it was its composer’s only unalloyed success. The opera’s protagonist, Canio leader of a band of itinerant performers, is married to a much younger…
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Pagliacci – Il Prologo
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th September 2014Leoncavallo’s opera Pagliacci is a vehicle for the tenor, yet every baritone wants to sing the relatively minor role of Tonio. The reason is simple – the prologue. It’s a sensational aria for a Verdi style baritone that ends in a high A-flat followed by a high G. It’s sung in front of the curtains with the…
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