Cav Pag Is Jan. 13, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The Jan. 13, 2018, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Cav Pag, a double feature of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci.

Sir David McVicar's staging of CavPag unites two generations in the same village and fast forwards Cavalleria Rusticana to 1900 and Pagliacci to 1949: BWWOperaWorld @BWWOperaWorld, via Facebook Jan. 4, 2018

Cav Pag, a double feature of Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni (Dec. 7, 1863-Aug. 2, 1945) and Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo (April 23, 1857-Aug. 9, 1919), is the Jan. 13, 2018, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

Italian librettist Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti (March 17, 1863-May 30, 1934) is credited with the Italian libretto for Mascagni’s one-act tragedy. The libretto’s literary source is a short story, published as one of nine novellas in an 1880 collection, Vita dei Campi (“Life in the Fields”), by Sicilian verismo (“realism”) writer Giovanni Verga (Sept. 2, 1840-Jan. 27, 1922). The setting is a Sicilian village.

Neapolitan musician Ruggero Leoncavallo is credited as composer and librettist of his original tragedy. He sets his opera in Southern Italy’s region of Calabria, which is the Italian mainland region that is closest to Sicily. A real-life incident is credited as the inspiration for Leoncavallo’s opera of a prologue with two acts.

“. . . I had taken my plot from an event that really took place in Calabria and was brought before my father when he was holding the Court of Justice at Cosenza. And what is stranger still, as I have since learned, the protagonist of my work is still living, and having been released from prison, is now in the service of Baroness Sprovieri in Calabria,” explains Leoncavallo in his article, “How I Wrote ‘Pagliacci,’” published November 1902 by The North American Review.

Cavalleria Rusticana premiered May 17, 1890, at Teatro Costanzi (Teatro dell’Opera di Roma) in Rome, Lazio region, western central Italy. Pagliacci’s premiere took place May 21, 1892, at Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, Lombardy, northwestern Italy.

Seven performances of Cav Pag are scheduled for the 2017-2018 Met Opera season. Six performances are offered in January: Monday, Jan. 8, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time; Saturday matinee broadcast, Jan. 13, at 12:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 20, at 1 p.m.; Thursday, Jan. 25, at 8 p.m.; Monday, Jan. 29, at 7:30 p.m. Closing night is Thursday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m.

Nicola Luisotti conducts all performances of the two tragic operas. His birthplace is Viareggio, northern Tuscany, north central Italy. The Italian conductor debuted Oct. 28, 2006, at the Metropolitan Opera in Tosca by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Ekaterina Semenchuk appears in Cavalleria Rusticana’s Saturday matinee broadcast as Santuzza, a villager betrayed by her lover, Turiddu. Her birthplace is Minsk, Belarus, Eastern Europe. The Russian mezzo-soprano debuted Feb. 14, 2002, at the Metropolitan Opera as Sonya in War and Peace by Soviet composer, conduct and pianist Sergei Prokofiev (April 23, 1891-March 5, 1953). In the 2017-2018 Met Opera season she also appears as a soloist in Verdi’s Requiem.

In addition to the Saturday matinee broadcast, Ekaterina Semenchuk also appears in the Jan. 8 and 17 performances. She shares the role with Eva-Maria Westbroek, who appears in four performances: Jan. 20, 25, 29; Feb. 1. The Dutch soprano, whose birthplace is Belfast, Northern Ireland, debuted April 22, 2011, as Sieglinde in Act I of Die Walküre by German composer Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

(Jan. 11, 2018, update per Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera Twitter Jan. 10, 2018: Ekaterina Semenchuk appears in all performances as Santuzza; she assumes performances originally assigned to Eva-Maria Westbroek, who is ill.)

Roberto Alagna appears in all performances as Turiddu, who forms a love triangle with Santuzza and his former fiancée, Lola. His birthplace is Clichy-sous-Bois, Île-de-France, northern France. The French tenor of Sicilian descent debuted April 10, 1996, at the Metropolitan Opera as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème.

George Gagnidze appears in the Saturday matinee broadcast as Alfio, Lola’s husband. His birthplace is Tbilisi, Central Valley, Republic of Georgia, Eurasia. The Georgian operatic baritone debuted Jan. 27, 2009, at the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of Verdi’s Rigoletto.

In addition to the Saturday matinee broadcast, George Gagnidze also appears in the Jan. 8, 17, 20 and 25 performances. He shares the role of Alfio with Željko Lučić, who performs Jan. 29 and Feb. 1. Born in Zrenjanin, Vojvodina, northern Serbia, Željko Lučić debuted Sept. 26, 2006, at the Metropolitan Opera as Barnaba in La Gioconda by 19th century Italian opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli (Aug. 31, 1834-Jan. 16, 1886).

Roberto Alagna appears in all performances of Pagliacci as Canio, head of a commedia troupe. He is in a love triangle with his wife, Nedda, and her lover, Silvio.

Aleksandra Kurzak appears in all Pagliacci performances as Nedda, Canio’s unfaithful wife. Her birthplace is Brzeg Dolny, Lower Silesia, southwestern Poland. The Polish operatic soprano debuted Dec. 10, 2004, at the Metropolitan Opera as Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann by German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach (June 20, 1819-Oct. 5, 1880).

(Update: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera announces via Twitter Jan. 13, 2018, that Danielle Pastin replaces Aleksandra Kurzak, who is ill, in the Saturday matinee performance.)

Danielle Pastin's cover performance as Nedda is her only appearance during the 2017-2018 Met Opera season. Her birthplace is Virginia Beach, southeastern Virginia. The American soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera as Masha in The Queen of Spades by Russian late-Romantic composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840-Nov. 6, 1893).

George Gagnidze appears in all Pagliacci performances as Tonio, a troupe member who is in love with Nedda. Spurned by Nedda offstage, Tonio avenges her mocking of his love-sick character, Taddeo, onstage in the tragedy’s play-within-a-play, by refusing to intervene between Nedda and enraged Canio.

Alessio Arduini appears in all Pagliacci performances as Silvio, Nedda’s ill-fated lover. His birthplace is Desenzano del Garda, Lombardy, northwestern Italy. The Italian baritone debuted Nov. 14, 2014, at the Metropolitan Opera as Schaunard in Puccini’s La Bohème.

(Update: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera announces via Twitter Jan. 12, 2018, that Alexey Lavrov replaces Alessio Arduini, who is ill, in the Saturday matinee performance.)

Alexey Lavrov also appears as Silvio for the Wednesday, Jan. 17, performance. His hometown is Pechora, Komi Republic, northwestern European Russia. The Russian baritone made his Metropolitan Opera debut Feb. 22, 2013, as a Flemish deputy in Don Carlo by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901). During the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Alexey Lavrov also appears as Schaunard in Puccini's La Bohème and as Ping in Puccini's Turandot.

The 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s presentation of Cav Pag revives staging debuted April 14, 2015, by Sir David McVicar. The Scottish opera and theatre director’s production team comprises Rae Smith, set designer; Moritz Junge, costume designer; Paule Constable, lighting director; Andrew George, choreographer; Emil Wolk, vaudeville consultant.

Met Opera’s staging updates the two tragedies from the 19th century to the 20th century. Two generations in the same village separate the updated tragedies, with Cavalleria Rusticana unfolding in 1900 and Pagliacci in 1949.

CavPag is performed as the seventh of the 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s 23 Saturday matinee broadcasts. Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel was the season’s sixth Saturday matinee broadcast. Hansel and Gretel aired Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, at 1 p.m.

The season’s eighth Saturday matinee broadcast is Thaïs by French Romantic era composer Jules Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912). Thaïs is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2018, at 1 p.m.

Online database Operabase places Ruggero Leoncavallo at number 19 and Pietro Mascagni at number 23 in a worldwide ranking of 1,281 composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/2016. Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci holds place 21 and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana occupies place 32 in the worldwide list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The Metropolitan Opera’s Repertory Report provides statistics for the opera house’s operatic performances. Places nine and 10 go to Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, respectively.

Above Pagliacci, in place eight, is Faust by 19th century French composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893). Immediately below Cavalleria Rusticana, in place 11, is Verdi's Il Trovatore.

Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana debuted Dec. 4, 1891, at the Metropolitan Opera. Pagliacci’s Metropolitan Opera debut took place Dec. 11, 1893. The Metropolitan Opera staged Pagliacci’s debut as a double-bill with Orfeo ed Euridice by German early classical composer Christoph Ritter von Gluck (July 2, 1714-Nov. 15, 1787). The Metropolitan Opera’s first staging of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci as a double bill dates to Dec. 22, 1893.

The takeaway for Cav Pag as the Jan. 13, 2018, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is that the 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s seventh Saturday matinee broadcast emotes as opera’s most popular double feature.

French tenor Roberto Alagna as Pagliaccio ("Clown") in Pagliacci's play-within-a-play: The 2017-2018 Met Opera season casts Roberto Alagna in CavPag's leading tenor roles: Roberto Alagna @roberto_alagna, via Twitter Dec. 26, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Sir David McVicar's staging of CavPag unites two generations in the same village and fast forwards Cavalleria Rusticana to 1900 and Pagliacci to 1949: "Roberto Alagna Stars In Sir David McVicar's Production of Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci.": The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Jan. 4, 2018, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10159946834570533

French tenor Roberto Alagna as Pagliaccio ("Clown") in Pagliacci's play-within-a play: "From 8th January 2018 @MetOpera, @roberto_alagna takes on the leading tenor roles - #Turiddu and #Canio - in the opera’s most popular double bill #cavpag.": Roberto Alagna @roberto_alagna, via Twitter Dec. 26, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/roberto_alagna/status/945804872296910849

For further information:

BWWOperaWorld @BWWOperaWorld. "Roberto Alagna Stars In Sir David McVicar's Production of Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci." Twitter. Dec. 28, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/BWWOperaWorld/status/946410162893365249

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

“Debut: Aleksandra Kurzak.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351104 Les Contes d'Hoffmann {233} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/10/2004.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351104

“Debut: Alessio Arduini.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355625 La Bohème {1264} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/14/2014.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355625

“Debut: George Gagnidze.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352823 Rigoletto {817} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/27/2009.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352823

“Debut: Nicola Luisotti.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351618 Tosca {881} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/28/2006.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351618

"Debuts: Alexey Lavrov." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354871 Don Carlo {203} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/22/2013.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354871

“Debuts: Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Semenchuk . . .” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 350257 Metropolitan Opera Premiere War and Peace {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/14/2002.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=350257

“Debuts: Christopher Wheeldon, Holly Hynes, Zeljko Lucic . . .” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351556 La Gioconda {275} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/26/2006.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351556

"Debuts: Danielle Pastin, Dina." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353868 The Queen of Spades {67} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/11/2011.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=353868

“Debuts: Eva-Maria Westbroek, Molly Fillmore, Lindsay Ammann.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353959 New Production Die Walküre {525} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/22/2011.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=353959

“Debuts: Roberto Alagna, William Shimell, Simone Young.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 323890 La Bohème {1031} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/10/1996.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=323890

Leoncavallo, R. (Ruggero). “How I Wrote ‘Pagliacci.’” The North American Review, vol. 175, no. 552 (November 1920): 652-654.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25119331.pdf

Marriner, Derdriu. "Hansel and Gretel Is Jan. 6, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, Jan. 1, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/hansel-and-gretel-is-jan-6-2018-met.html

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Ekaterina Semenchuk sings Santuzza in the 1/20, 1/25, 1/29 & 2/1 performances of Cavalleria Rusticana, replacing Eva-Maria Westbroek, who is ill. #CastChange." Twitter. Jan. 10, 2018. (Note: cast change updated added Jan. 11, 2018.)
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/951147227896078336

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "For the matinee performance of Pagliacci today (Jan 13), the role of Nedda will be sung by Danielle Pastin, replacing Aleksandra Kurzak, who is ill. #CastChange." Twitter. Jan. 13, 2018.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/952211897503404033

Metropolitan Opera ‏@MetOpera. "For the matinee performance of Pagliacci tomorrow Jan 13, Silvio will be sung by Alexey Lavrov, replacing Alessio Arduini, who is ill. #CastChange." Twitter. Jan. 12, 2018.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/951902197004021762

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "On January 8, tenor Roberto Alagna takes on the leading roles in both parts of opera's most popular double bill—Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci." Facebook. Jan. 2018.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10159946834570533

"Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml

"Personality Test: Opera Singer Danielle Pastin." Pittsburgh Tribune-Review > News. Feb. 16, 2012.
Available @ http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/theater/s_781778.html

Roberto Alagna @roberto_alagna. “From 8th January 2018 @MetOpera, @roberto_alagna takes on the leading tenor roles - #Turiddu and #Canio - in both parts of opera’s most popular double bill, Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana & Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.” Twitter. Dec. 26, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/roberto_alagna/status/945805977537925122

Roberto Alagna @roberto_alagna. "From 8th January 2018 @MetOpera, @roberto_alagna takes on the leading tenor roles - #Turiddu and #Canio - in the opera’s most popular double bill #cavpag." Twitter. Dec. 26, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/roberto_alagna/status/945804872296910849