Vienna-Tel Aviv Vocal Connection

Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra

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Pagliacci/Cavalleria Rusticana

 

Pagliacci/Cavalleria Rusticana

Conductor: David Aronson

Stage Director: Rosemarie Danziger

Chorus Master: Assaf Benraf

 

Cast

Canio/Turiddu: Zurab Zurabishvili

Nedda/Santuzza: Eugenia Dushina

Tonio/Alfio: Pedro Carrillo-Perera

Silvio: Oleh Lebedyev

Beppe: Doron Florentin

Mamma Lucia: Rona Shrira

Lola: Avigail Gurtler Har-Tuv

 

Choirs

Jerusalem A-Cappella Singers (Director: Assaf Benraf)

Jerusalem Chamber Choir (Director: Tom Karni)

Shahar Rehovot (Director: Gila Brill)

Ankor Children’s Choir (Director: Dafna Ben Yohanan)

 

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The opera Cavalleria rusticana (libretto by Giovanni Tregioni Tozzetti and Guido Menassi based on the novella of the same name by Giovanni Verga) tells a tragic story that takes place in a Sicilian village. Turiddu returns to his village after his military service and discovers that his fiancée Lola has married Alfio, the wealthiest man in the village. In despair, he promises to marry Santuzza, a common girl from the village. However, he cannot resist the temptation to return to the married Lola's arms. Santuzza follows Turiddu and finds out that he’s returned to Lola’s arms. Utterly devastated, she tells Alfio about the affair between her fiancé and his wife. Alfio challenges Turiddu to a duel that ends in Turiddu’s death.

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The opera Pagliacci by Rogero Leoncavallo, who also wrote the libretto, is based on a real case heard in court where the judge was the composer's father. The opera tells the story of a theater troupe traveling between the villages of Calabria, presenting the traditional Commedia dell'arte. Nedda, the wife of the clown Canio, cheats on him with Silvio, a lover she meets in one of the villages, while rejecting the advances of Tonio, a fellow member of the troupe. The evening's performance becomes a real-life performance. To the horror of the whole audience Canio, in his jealousy, murders both his wife and Silvio.

 

Meet The Cast

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Nedda/Santuzza: Eugenia Dushina, Soprano: Teatro Real, Madrid; Royal Opera House La Monet, Brussels; Vilnius Opera House; Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris; Solothurn Opera House, Switzerland; International Opera Festival in Mörbisch, Austria; Klosterneuburg Opera, Austria.

Canio/Turiddu: Zurab Zurabishvili, Tenor: Deutsche Oper Berlin; Essen Opera House; Düsseldorf Opera House; Flemish Opera House, Antwerp; Royal Opera Copenhagen; Zurich Opera House; Israeli Opera.

Tonio/Alfio: Pedro Carrillo Perera, Baritone: Teresa Carreño Opera House, Caracas, Venezuela; Odessa National Opera House; Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, Italy; National Opera of Moldavia; Teatro Politama Greco, Lecce, Italy.

Mamma Lucia: Rona Shrira, alto: The Israeli Opera

Lola: Avigail Gurtler Har-Tuv, soprano: The Israeli Opera.

Silvio: Oleg Lebedyev, baritone: Semper Opera House, Dresden; Düsseldorf Opera House; Cologne Opera House; Essen Opera House; Queen Sofia Center for the Performing Arts in Valencia, Spain; Glyndebourne Festival, UK.

Harlequin: Doron Florentin, tenor: The Israeli Opera

A Cappella Jerusalem Vocal Ensemble; Assaf Bennerf, Director

Jerusalem Chamber Choir; Tom Karni, Director

Shahar Rehovot Choir; Gila Brill, Director

Ankor Children's Choir Jerusalem; Dafna Ben Yohanan, Director