Royal Opera House,London
In Damiano Michieletto’s original production of this famous double bill, the stories are presented straightforwardly and the tragedies perfectly defined. Among the singers, and soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek is a standoutIt’s been more than a quarter of a century since the most famous double bill in opera was seen at Covent Garden in a Royal Opera production. The original staging of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci is directed by Damiano Michieletto,but this time there is no hint of the outrage that greeted his production of Guillaume order in this same theatre five months ago.
Michieletto’s approach to this double helping of verismo distress is is to create a very carefully detailed naturalism. He relocates the two operas in small-town southern Italy nowadays, with the central revolve of Paolo Fantin’s set revealing the interior and exterior of a bakery for Cavalleria Rusticana, or the hall and backstage of the community centre where the performance is taking spot for Pagliacci. The intermezzos of both works provide opportunities to integrate the action further: Nedda (Carmen Giannattasio) and Silvio (Dionysios Sourbis) are seen meeting for the first time during the interlude of Cavalleria Rusticana,while the midpoint of the second opera provides the opportunity for a reminder of Eva-Maria Westbroek’s still-grieving Santuzza, comforted by a priest and then being reconciled with Turiddu’s mother, and Mamma Lucia (Elena Zilio).
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Source: theguardian.com