I just saw Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci last night and I've got some quest!
Question: I was fortunate to see opera's famous double bill, Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci (CavPag for short) last night.
I do have some questions though that weren't answered during any research or the pre-opera lecture.
1. Did Turiddu really care for Santuzza or was she just a "fling?"
2. Why wouldn't Nedda reveal the name of her lover to her husband Canio? Was she scared that Canio would go after him?
3. When exactly did Canio "snap" while playing the part of Pagliaccio?
4. Are there any other operas that complement each other just as much as CavPag (i.e. similar themes, etc)?
5. After Canio kills his wife, he says that the comedy is ended. I'm a little confused here. Does he mean the comedy that he was acting in as Pagliaccio or was this an ironic comment put in by Leoncavallo?
These questions are out of curiousity. You don't have to answer them all (in fact, you can answer one or two if you'd like).
Answers: I was fortunate to see opera's famous double bill, Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci (CavPag for short) last night.
I do have some questions though that weren't answered during any research or the pre-opera lecture.
1. Did Turiddu really care for Santuzza or was she just a "fling?"
2. Why wouldn't Nedda reveal the name of her lover to her husband Canio? Was she scared that Canio would go after him?
3. When exactly did Canio "snap" while playing the part of Pagliaccio?
4. Are there any other operas that complement each other just as much as CavPag (i.e. similar themes, etc)?
5. After Canio kills his wife, he says that the comedy is ended. I'm a little confused here. Does he mean the comedy that he was acting in as Pagliaccio or was this an ironic comment put in by Leoncavallo?
These questions are out of curiousity. You don't have to answer them all (in fact, you can answer one or two if you'd like).
Some nice answers already, but let me give you my opinions:
1) Turiddu cares for Santuzza, but does not feel the passionate love that he feels for Lola. This is clear when he asks Mamma Lucia to take care of her if he is killed in the fight.
2) Nedda knows how jealous Canio is, and as long as he doesn't know who Silvio is, he is safe. She does cry out for him after Canio stabs her, though, which leads to Silvio's death.
3) Probably right at the moment he sings "No, Pagliaccio non son". This can be translated both as "No, I am not Pagliaccio" (Pagliaccio being not only the Italian word for "clown", but also for the Commedia dell' arte character of Pierrot, the cuckolded husband.)
To really understand what happens in the "play within a play", some familiarity with that tradition is helpful. It was something like "sketch comedy" (think "Whose line is it, anyway?" or "Saturday Night Live" with lots of improvisation built around stock characters. That is why the audience reacts the way they do. They are not expecting drama, but a certain kind of offbeat humor. At first they think Canio is acting.
4) I don't know of any case where operas by different composers have been so closely linked. Of course, these two operas are the archtypical "verismo" operas, being more realistic than previous operas and dealing with lower class characters, and very intense emotions.
5) This line was originally given to Tonio, and is sometimes done that way today. I think he is saying something like, "Show's over!" If Tonio says it, there is a nice symmetry with the Prologue, where he tells the audience that what they will see is a "slice of life." If Canio says it, it harkens back to his aria at the end of the first part, "Vesti la giubba", where he says he must play the clown, even though his heart is breaking.
1) Turiddu was Lola's lover before going to serve in the army; when he returned, Lola had married Alfio, so he promised to marry Santa. When he understands that his kinfe-challenge will lead him to death, he recommends that his mother takes care of her to respect his promise. He cared.
2) Nedda would keep mum to shield Silvio from Canio's violent jealousy. They had agreed to flee off after the performance.
3) If I get you right, he received a spy-hint by Tonio regarding Nedda's traison, so he tries to keep up his role, but when she continues to tell the public it's all a fiction he loses temper and yells that man takes his role again.
4) Puccini's 'Trittico' (Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi) are usually staged together. R. Strauss's Elektra and Salome complement each other in themes. And of course Wagner's Tetralogy.
the italian has hit all the nails on the head!
just a little comment on question #1: in Santuzza's big aria,
she tells Turiddu's mom, Mama Lucia, how Turiddu, on his return home fromthe army, has found Lola married off, so to cool his hot heart ( euphemisms abound in opera!) he has found a new love, namely, Santuzza. I would say your estimation of fling is a lot closer to the truth, but Turiddu did have his mom swear to watch out for her at the end. After all, the title is Rustic Chivalry, and that would be the right thing to do. Some folks would also see this as an admission, that not only did T and S get it on without being married ( oh the shame) but she's also pregnant, so he's got to ensure the well-being of his child. However, thi is also under the rubric euphemism and innuendo, so it's up to the stage director, if he/she wants this twist in the story or not.
Other one-acters that might fit together well, besides the Trittico include: L'heure Espangnol, L'enfant et les Sortileges, both by Ravel; Die Mond, by Henze; Angelique, by Ibert, the Old Maid and the Thief by Menotti ( which was actually a radio play). there are probably tons of other one-act operas out there that I've never heard of, so if you see a nice play bill with none of these names in it, please let me know!