The Mascagni and Leoncavallo double bill was the very first staging ever undertaken by Welsh National Opera in 1946 and sentiment decreed that it should be played in the company's inaugural season at its new home. Elijah Moshinsky's production was created for WNO's jubilee and has done sterling duty. It has proved a glorious vehicle for both chorus and orchestra. And the moment when the battered truck that brings Pagliaccio's touring troupe on to the stage is emblematic.
While Cavalleria Rusticana has tended to be the less successful of the pair, a very strong ensemble made this more passionately felt and delivered this time. As the three women in his life, Marianna Tarasova's powerful Santuzza, Susan Gorton's Mamma Lucia and Claire Bradshaw's Lola helped define Turiddu's dilemma with poignancy, so that Dennis O'Neill and Jason Howard's smouldering Sicilian honour and vengeance could be all too credible.
With O'Neill and Howard doubling the roles of Turiddu and Alfio with those of Canio and Tonio in Pagliacci, the onus was on them to sustain momentum into the second opera and they did. With its fire-throwers, the clowning and witty cameo roles, the spectacle was as charming as ever, but Delphine Gillot's Nedda simply could not match O'Neill in acting or vocal heft. It meant that the point when the drama spills over into the commedia dell'arte play had none of the chemistry that usually makes this such a nail-baiting climax. Nevertheless, O'Neill's touch was remarkable and that he has succeeded in carrying these towering interpretations on to the new stage is even more remarkable. Carlo Rizzi was back in the pit, championing his company as never before.
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