“Cavalleria Rusticana” & “Pagliacci” at the Cairo Opera House

10 January 2024

In accord with the Cairo Opera House’s cultural mission to revive world art classics and stage internationally acclaimed opera productions, the Cairo Opera Company presents two one-act operas, “Cavalleria Rusticana” by Pietro Mascagni and “Pagliacci” by Ruggero Leoncavallo, at the Main Hall, from 14 January to 17 January 2024 at 8 p.m.
The two productions are directed by Dr. Abdallah Saad with the participation of the Cairo Opera Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Nader Abbassi, and the Cairo Opera Choir coached by Mina Hanna. Dances are choreographed by Sherif Ramadan; lighting by Yasser Shaalan; and set design by Mohamed Abdel Razik.
Depicting dramatic stories of love, betrayal, and revenge, the two famous Italian operas have been frequently performed together. In “Cavalleria Rusticana”, the frivolous Lola re-establishes a relationship with her former lover, whom her husband kills in accordance with an ancient Sicilian custom. “Pagliacci” tells the tale of Canio, an actor who kills his attractive young wife Nedda and her lover on stage during a performance. Both stories end with a jealousy-driven murder. The passionate intensity of their music has bestowed timeless longevity upon these two operas, which are, until today, core works of repertoire at opera houses across the world.
As for the cast of “Cavalleria Rusticana”, Gihan Fayed and Jolie Faizy alternate in the role of Santuzza, Ragaa El Din Ahmed and Moustafa Medhat alternate in the role of Turiddu, Moustafa Mohamed and Tamer Tawfik alternate in the role of Alfio, Amina Khairat and Laila Ibrahim alternate in the role of Mamma Lucia, and Nouresta El Marghany and Amina Khairat alternate in the role of Lola.
On the other hand, in “Pagliacci” Mona Rafla and Dalia Farouk alternate in the role of Nedda, Amr Medhat and Ragaa El Din Ahmed alternate in the role of Canio, Luca Simonetti and George Gamal alternate in the role of Tonio, Elhamy Amin and Khaled Samir alternate in the role of Silvio, Ibrahim Nagui and Mina Raphael alternate in the role of Beppe.
Pietro Mascagni (1863 - 1945) was a famous Italian opera composer and conductor. He was one of the leaders of the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music in the 19th century. Verismo, in turn, is initially extracted from the veristic works of Giovanni Verga, and influenced by Émile Zola and French naturalism. This style of opera writing is marked by melodramatic, often violent quick-paced plots with characters drawn from everyday life.
Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857 - 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. As a representative of the Verismo movement in Italian opera, Leoncavallo brought realism onto the operatic stage while moving away from the dramatic exoticism of Romanticism. Although he produced numerous operas and songs throughout his career like “I Medici” (1893), “Chatterton” (1896), “La Bohème” (1897), “Zazà” (1900), “Pagliacci” (1892) is one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the opera repertoire.