Saturday, May 9 at 7:30pm
Sunday, May 10 at 2pm
Thursday, May 14 at 7:30pm
Saturday, May 16 at 7:30pm
Sunday, May 17 at 2pm
MUSIC AND LIBRETTO BY RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO
The show must go on, but how? For Canio and his traveling troupe, painted smiles and colorful costumes belie infidelity and betrayal. The façade is shattered when a hidden affair is revealed and a lighthearted night at the theater gives way to jealousy, suspicion, and ultimately violence. As the line between performance and reality blurs and the drama onstage begins to mirror the turmoil offstage, Pagliacci begs the question—does art imitate life, or does life imitate art?
Content Warning: sexual assault, gun violence, intimate partner violence, self harm
Content Advisory: Act I of this production depicts an attempted sexual assault. Act II of this production depicts a murder of two characters by gunshot, witnessed by children, as well as suggestion of self harm.
Ordway Music Theater
345 Washington St
St Paul, MN 55102
Italian composer Ruggero Leoncavallo was born in Naples on April 23, 1857. Though it was not performed publicly until some time later, Leoncavallo completed his first opera Chatterton in 1876, before his twentieth birthday. Not long after, Leoncavallo fell on hard times and became a café pianist and sometime teacher in Paris, London, and Egypt…
PROLOGUE
Tonio announces that tonight’s story is a “slice of real life”—and that those on stage are every bit as human as their audiences.
ACT I
A small theatrical company has arrived in town. Canio, the head of the troupe, advertises the night’s performance to the gathered crowd…
Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci is a remarkable masterpiece of the verismo movement, weaving together the rich tapestry of commedia dell’arte with a poignant exploration of the human psyche. When approaching any production, I always begin with the “Why”: Why tell this story now?…
Explore the visual world of Pagliacci through a gallery of costume renderings by Costume Designer Erik Teague. These renderings, created for the original production, do not reflect Minnesota Opera’s current cast, but offer a glimpse into the design process and visual storytelling behind the work.
Enjoy behind the scenes videos including preview performances recorded live at the MPR studios.
