Beyond the wail Beyond the wail

Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci at Lyric Opera of Chicago are hysterical in all the wrong ways.

Hymns and chaos Hymns and chaos

It’s Easter season, and that can mean only one thing for opera: It’s Cavalleria Rusticana time. And I, for one, couldn’t be more excited.

Cherry picking

“Voglio essere giudicato per la musica e nient’altro che per la musica.” “I want to be judged for my music and nothing but my music.” This phrase, which Mascagni himself wrote to his publisher Sonzogno, is the key to understanding the very essence and existence of L’amico Fritz (1891). Cavalleria rusticana, Mascagni’s first performed opera,…