Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana & Leoncavallo: Pagliacci

Deadly passions flare as a country village celebrates Easter; a touring comedy takes a violent turn. Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci were never conceived as a double bill but together, these two operas of jealousy and death under the pitiless Italian sun have come to define Verismo opera. Giancarlo del Monaco's now-classic staging from Madrid weaves them into a single narrative, with bold semi-abstract designs stripping away the clichés to let a handpicked cast get straight to the drama's fiery heart. With Jesús López Cobos conducting, impassioned playing and still more powerful singing make this performance from 2007 stand out.