Organization

Conductor

Lio Kuokman

Stage director

Lo Kingman

Set designer

Allan Tsui

Costume designer

Yoki Lai

Lighting designer

Maggie Law

Chorus master

Raymond Fu

Commedia Co-Director

Peter Jordan

Repetiteur

Felix Suen

Kam Wing-chong

Singer

Soprano

Janara Kellerman

Santuzza

Carol Lin

Louise Kwong

Tenor

John Daniecki

Turiddu

Jeffrey Hartman

Baritone

Grant Youngblood

Alfio

Brian Montgomery

Mezzo-soprano

Melody Sze

Lola

Contralto

Cynthia Luff

Lucia

Kristin Sampson

Nedda

Yuki Ip

Canio

Tonio

Alex Tam

Peppe

Christopher Leung

Nicholas Provenzale

Silvio

Musica Viva Singers

Taljan

Cavalleria rusticana -  (Rustic Chivalry)

Hong Kong

China

Cavalleria rusticana Mascagni (+1 More)

Public

Rustic Chivalry

Pagliacci

Ċiniż

Ingliż

Approved

Despite their geneses over a century ago, Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci remain perennials on the season rosters of opera houses worldwide. In fact, they are perhaps the few best known Italian operas among audience of our time. The themes of love triangle, domestic violence, adultery and murder, so pungently depicted in these operas, reincarnate not only in popular entertainment, but also in the news headlines in reality. Regardless of the musical background of the audience, most of us would have encountered the Mascagni’s famous Intermezzo and the fragments of Leoncavallo’s “Vesti la giubba” through motion pictures, television series and commercials, and even in the unlikely context of cartoon. The longevity of the reception of the two operas can perhaps be explained by their relevance to target audience. Because of the operas’ emphasis on humanity, the works appeal to people regardless of time and geography.

Between 1888 and 1902, Sonzogno organized four competitions calling for original one-act Italian operas. Puccini had unsuccessfully submitted Le villi for the first competition. Mascagni’s opera was awarded the first prize in 1890. With the success of Cavalleria rusticana, Sonzogno was quick to seize the opportunity and continue his campaign by encouraging young composers to emulate Mascagni. Owing to the predominance of contemporary characters and references to the bottom rungs of the social ladder in these works, the term verismo (borrowed from Italian literature) became the banner and emblem of Casa Sonzogno. On the other hand, the 3000 lire cash prize was almost irresistible to any young composer determined to try his hands on opera. As a result, the decade of 1890s witnessed a flourish of new Italian operas, depicted with deliberate awareness of reality. Together with Mascagni, the subsequent winners, including Leoncavallo, Giordano and Cilea, were presented as the giovane scuola (young school) and their works were marketed as verismo operas.

English

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