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Two timeless stories of love, honour, justice and violence, captured on just one Blu-ray disc – a highlight for every opera lover. Pietro Mascagni‘s “Cavalleria rusticana” and Ruggero Leoncavallo‘s “Pagliacci” speak to one‘s heart and soul. They are regarded as the most absorbing tragedies of Italian music theater. Adultery, jealousy and betrayal are leading to passionate conflicts that jointly connect both operas. The impressively embellished stage waives exaggerated decoration to underline the unflattering realistic brutality. Both operas are supported by a musical variety of great arias, short duets and amazing choir passages that add to the unveiled expression of feelings. As a special guest the Argentinian Tenor José Cura stands out with his fascinating singing and acting performance. Besides him Soprano Paoletta Marrocu with her expressive interpretation of Santuzza, Carlo Guelfi as Tonio or Fiorenza Cedolins as Nedda can convince the audience with their great voices. These atmospheric performances directed by Grischa Asagaroff and conducted by Stefano Ranzani are capable to fascinate every opera lover.



CAST
Pietro Mascagni
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Lola – Liliana Nikiteanu
Alfio – Cheyne Davidson
Lucia – Irène Friedli
Turiddu – José Cura
Santuzza – Paoletta Marrocu

Ruggero Leoncavallo
PAGLIACCI

Peppe – Boiko Zvetanov
Silvio – Gabriel Bermúdez
Tonio – Carlo Guelfi
Nedda – Fiorenza Cedolins
Canio – José Cura

Zurich Opera House Chorus and Orchestra
(chorus master: Jürg Hämmerli)
Stefano Ranzani, conductor

Grischa Asagaroff, stage director
Luigi Perego, set designer
Hans-Rudolf Kunz, lighting designer

REVIEW
Ian Lace, MusicWeb International

"This ‘Cav’ and ‘Pag’, in Blu-ray DVD looks quite stunning. Look, for instance, at the clown costume Tonio wears as he sings his Pagliacci Prologue. The detail is outstanding, all the clashing cross-stripes of his waistcoat and overcoat hold steady, and all the subtleties of his costume’s colours, and that of the parrot on his shoulder, they are all captured - as are the lovely 1950s, full-skirted dresses of the ladies of the chorus in Pagliacci’s opening scene. The sound is equally outstanding. Just one example: you can hear all the niceties of Leoncavallo’s orchestral textures imitative of birdsong as Nedda sings her ballatella, ‘Stridono lassù’, expressing her envy and admiration of the happy carefree flight of the birds overhead. The set, costumes and lighting are more muted as appropriate to Cavalleria Rusticana’s Easter Sunday setting.

Cavalleria’s set is quite minimalistic with the outline of the church to right and a high gantry stretching over the village square, centre-stage to the dwellings, including those of Lola and Mamma Lucia, to the right. Santuzza has a shadowy glimpse of Lola’s illicit lover as the drama begins. That lover is her own Turiddu (José Cura). Santuzza is devastated. Paoletta Marrocu acts very convincingly as Santuzza: vulnerable, anguished and embittered, she becomes bent on vengeance then remorseful when she realises her betrayal of Turiddu to Alfio will lead to inevitable tragedy, and Turiddu’s death. Santuzza’s heartbreak is almost unbearably moving. Marrocu’s vocal range is impressive: steady on her high notes and strong and colourful in mid-range.

She is pious as she leads the villagers in the famous Easter Hymn, rancorously needling in her accusatory duet with Turiddu and remorsefully sorrowful when she realises the implications of her treachery. Cheyne Davidson, looking like some vengeful American gangster thunders darkly and impressively in his role as the cuckolded husband Alfio. José Cura impresses strongly as the philandering Turiddu, taking advantage of all the expressive opportunities in the role - flamboyantly serenading Lola, hotly rejecting Santuzza’s appeals to his better nature and sorrowing and appealingly vulnerable when, in a near drunken stupor, he realises his fate and pleads with his mother to look after Santuzza if he loses his duel with Alfio.

Stefano Ranzani conducts with authority and passion from the exquisite detail of the lush violin passages in the Cavalleria Rusticana overture to the darkly dramatic double murder music that is the climax of Pagliacci.

A visual treat."

Works on This Recording
1.
Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni
Performer: Liliana Nikiteanu (Soprano), Irène Friedli (Alto), Cheyne Davidson (Baritone), José Cura (Tenor), Paoletta Marrocu (Soprano)
Conductor: Stefano Ranzani
Orchestra/Ensemble: Zurich Opera House Orchestra, Zurich Opera House Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1890; Italy
2.
I Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo
Performer: Gabriel Bermudez (Baritone), Fiorenza Cedolins (Soprano), José Cura (Tenor), Carlo Guelfi (Baritone), Boiko Zvetanov (Tenor)
Conductor: Stefano Ranzani
Orchestra/Ensemble: Zurich Opera House Orchestra, Zurich Opera House Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1892; Italy