Les Arts closes its opera season with Mascagni's 'Cavalleria rusticana' and Leoncavallo's 'Pagliacci'.

Les Arts és Òpera 

• Jordi Bernàcer takes over the musical direction of the double bill, which is presented in a stage production by Giancarlo del Monaco.
• Jorge de León plays the demanding roles of Turiddu in 'Cavalleria rusticana' and Canio in 'Pagliacci' in the same evening

Valencia (18.05.21). The Palau de les Arts closes its opera season with 'Cavalleria rusticana', by Pietro Mascagni, and 'Pagliacci', by Ruggero Leoncavallo, which premiere on Sunday, May 23 in the Main Hall.

Jesús Iglesias Noriega, the theater's artistic director, presented this double bill at a press conference today, considered the most representative diptych of Italian verismo, along with Jordi Bernàcer, musical director; Giancarlo del Monaco, stage director; and singers Jorge de León, Ruth Iniesta and Sonia Ganassi.

“Passions, jealousy, revenge and betrayal are the common denominator of 'Cavalleria rusticana' and 'Pagliacci', two works that share a history of more than 100 years of stage pairing, and which, finally, meet again for our audience,” Iglesias Noriega pointed out, recalling that Les Arts performed 'Cavalleria rusticana' in 2010 but paired with 'La vida breve' by Manuel de Falla.

In this regard, the artistic director explained that the choice of this program is also part of 'Les Arts és Òpera's' commitment to showcasing the different styles, periods and authors of the operatic genre, which in this season has included everything from the classicism of Mozart to 21st-century opera with Kurtág.

Pietro Mascagni and Ruggero Leoncavallo, as well as representatives of the Italian Giovane Scuola, which also includes authors such as Giacomo Puccini or Umberto Giordano, “are two of the greatest exponents of an aesthetic movement, verismo, which turns everyday reality into an operatic object,” Iglesias Noriega pointed out.

In this sense, Jordi Bernácer has pointed out that with verismo, opera becomes a mirror for the spectators, since the stage reproduces real situations with which the spectator can identify, and both 'Cavalleria rusticana' and 'Pagliacci' are paradigmatic works of this musical movement.

The maestro from Alcoy, who has previously conducted titles such as 'Manon', 'Simon Boccanegra', 'Manon Lescaut', 'Luisa Fernanda' and 'Nabucco' in Valencia, takes charge of the theater's permanent ensembles, the Cor de la Generalitat and the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, and a cast with outstanding voices from the national and international scene.

Giancarlo del Monaco directed this double production for the Teatro Real, with set design by Johannes Leiacker, costumes by Birgit Wentsch, and lighting by Wolfgang von Zoubek, which won the Campoamor Award for Best Stage Direction. It is one of the Italian director's most exceptional and sought-after works, having been performed in Bonn, Oslo, Turin, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Montpellier, Munich, and Paris.

The staging delves into the psychology of the characters to explore the dimensions of both dramas. To this end, it sets 'Cavalleria rusticana' in a vast marble quarry, stripping away some of the clichés of the Sicilian setting, while still maintaining references such as the weight of religion. In 'Pagliacci', del Monaco transposes the plot from the late 19th century to the 1950s and 60s.

Jorge de León returns to Les Arts as the male lead in both operas. The tenor from Tenerife, a favorite of the Valencian public, performs the demanding roles of Turiddu in 'Cavalleria rusticana' and Canio in 'Pagliacci', a role that will mark his tenth performance in Valencia after his appearances in 'La bruja', 'La vida breve', 'Cavalleria rusticana', 'Carmen', 'Aida', 'Tosca', 'Le Cid', 'Il trovatore' and 'Turandot'.

De León shares the spotlight in Mascagni's one-act opera with Sonia Ganassi, one of the most renowned mezzo-sopranos of her generation and a regular at major theaters. An expert in the Italian repertoire, the Reggio Emilia native is considered one of the leading voices for the role of Santuzza.

Mezzo-soprano Maria Luisa Corbacho (Mamma Lucia), baritone Misha Kiria (Alfio) and mezzo-soprano Amber Fasquelle (Lola) from the Centre de Perfeccionament complete the cast of 'Cavalleria rusticana'.

Ruth Iniesta, for her part, makes her debut in the role of Nedda in this production of 'Pagliacci'. The soprano from Zaragoza, winner of the Campoamor and Codalario awards in 2015, returns to the Valencian audience after the successful reception last season of her performance as Madama Cortese in 'Il viaggio a Reims'.

Rounding out the cast of Leoncavallo's work are baritones Mattia Olivieri (former student of the Centre de Perfeccionament and now a regular artist at La Scala), Misha Kiria who, with the role of Tonio, also completes a double operatic performance as Jorge de León, and tenor Joel Williams from the Opera Studio of Les Arts.

'Cavalleria rusticana' and 'Pagliacci' will be performed on May 23, 27 and 30, as well as June 2 and 5.

Preview 

On Thursday, May 20, at 7:00 p.m., Les Arts will hold the final 'Pre-premiere for those 28 and under' of the season. With tickets priced at a single rate of ten euros and the auditorium reserved exclusively for audiences up to 28 years of age, the cultural center has established this initiative aimed at promoting and disseminating opera among young people, as well as facilitating their integration into Les Arts.

Following the public successes of shows like 'La Cenerentola', 'Falstaff' or 'El barberillo de Lavapiés', the Les Arts box office has once again put up the 'no tickets available' sign for 'Cavalleria rusticana' and 'Pagliacci', except for the quota reserved for the same day of the performance.