''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an
Italian opera
Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ope ...
in a prologue and two acts, with music and
libretto
A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
by
Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a
commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...
theatrical company, who murders his wife Nedda and her lover Silvio on stage during a performance. ''Pagliacci'' premiered at the
Teatro Dal Verme
The Teatro Dal Verme is a theatre in Milan, Italy located on the Via San Giovanni sul Muro, on the site of the former private theatre the ''Politeama Ciniselli''. It was designed by Giuseppe Pestagalli to a commission from Count Francesco Dal Ve ...
in Milan on 21 May 1892, conducted by
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...
, with
Adelina Stehle as Nedda,
Fiorello Giraud as Canio,
Victor Maurel as Tonio, and
Mario Ancona
Mario Ancona (28 February 1860 – 23 February 1931), was a leading Italian baritone and master of bel canto singing. He appeared at some of the most important opera houses in Europe and America during what is commonly referred to as the "Gold ...
as Silvio. Soon after its Italian premiere, the opera played in London (with
Nellie Melba as Nedda) and in New York (on 15 June 1893, with Agostino Montegriffo as Canio). ''Pagliacci'' is the best-known of Leoncavallo's ten operas and remains a staple of the repertoire.
''Pagliacci'' is often staged with ''
Cavalleria rusticana'' by
Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece '' Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ...
, a double bill known colloquially as "Cav/Pag".
Origin and disputes
Leoncavallo was a little-known composer when
Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece '' Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ...
's ''
Cavalleria rusticana'' premiered around 1890. After seeing Mascagni's success, Leoncavallo decided to write an opera in response: one act composed in the
verismo style.
Leoncavallo based the story of ''Pagliacci'' on an incident from his childhood:
the 1865 murder of a Leoncavallo family servant, Gaetano Scavello, killed by Gaetano D'Alessandro, with brother Luigi acting as accomplice. The incident stemmed from a series of perceived romantic entanglements involving Scavello, Luigi D'Alessandro, and a village girl with whom both men were infatuated. Leoncavallo's father, a judge, presided as magistrate over the criminal investigation.
Leoncavallo originally titled his story ''Il pagliaccio'' (''The Clown''). The baritone
Victor Maurel, who was cast as the first Tonio, requested that Leoncavallo change the title from the singular ''Il pagliaccio'' to the plural ''I Pagliacci'', to broaden dramatic interest from Canio alone to include Tonio (his own role).
The French author
Catulle Mendès sued Leoncavallo for
plagiarism
Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
after learning of the plot of Leoncavallo's libretto from an 1894 French translation. Mendès thought it resembled his 1887 play ''
La Femme de Tabarin'' ("Tabarin's Wife"), which was structured as a play-within-the-play and featured a clown murdering his wife. Leoncavallo pleaded ignorance of Mendès's play.
Later, there were counter-accusations that Mendès's play resembled Don
Manuel Tamayo y Baus's ''Un Drama Nuevo'' (1867). Mendès dropped his lawsuit. Scholar
Matteo Sansone has suggested that Leoncavallo had ample opportunity to be exposed to new French art and musical works while living in Paris from 1882 to 1888, including potentially Mendès's play, another version of ''La femme de Tabarin'' by Paul Ferrier, and ''Tabarin'', an opera composed by
Émile Pessard that was based on Ferrier's play.
Composition
The opening Prologue was written for Maurel "as an afterthought", as Leoncavallo said in a conversation with the critic and singing teacher
Herman Klein during his visit to London for the UK premiere in 1893: he wrote it "as an inducement to a clever, but rather egotistical baritone to sing the part of Tonio, who felt it wasn't important enough for an artist of his distinction. Perhaps he was right. Anyhow I thought the matter over and hit upon the idea that a prologue, sung before the curtain by one of the humblest characters, would prove something of a novelty and by no means out of place. Being, as you know, my own librettist, I quickly wrote the words and sketched the music. My baritone was delighted, both with the notion and the result, and I am bound to add that it proved one of the most striking features of the opera when I brought it out at the Dal Verme, Milan, just a year ago."
Towards the end of the prologue, singers often interpolate a high Aâ™ and a high G, although these do not appear in the original full score. In an Australian newspaper article in December 1893, the baritone Guigliemo Caruson, who had already sung the part in Genoa earlier that year
[Born in Naples in 1863. For his singing career, see ] said that "whilst rehearsing under Signor Leoncavallo's immediate direction, the composer gave his consent to the interpolation remarking that it was very effective, but that he would not add it to the score as he did not wish to force the note upon voices it did not suit."
Performance history
''Pagliacci'' received mixed critical reviews after its world premiere, but was instantly successful with the public and has remained so ever since.
The UK premiere of ''Pagliacci'' took place at the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
,
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
, under the management of Sir
Augustus Harris in London on 19 May 1893, supervised by the composer.
Nellie Melba sang Nedda, with
Fernando de Lucia as Canio and
Mario Ancona
Mario Ancona (28 February 1860 – 23 February 1931), was a leading Italian baritone and master of bel canto singing. He appeared at some of the most important opera houses in Europe and America during what is commonly referred to as the "Gold ...
as Tonio, M. Bonnard (Beppe) and Richard Green (Silvio). The conductor was
Luigi Mancinelli.
The US premiere followed a month later at the
Grand Opera House in
New York on 15 June 1893, conducted by
Gustav Hinrichs, with
Selma Kronold (Nedda), American tenor
Agostino Montegriffo (Canio), and
Giuseppe Campanari (Tonio).
The 'old'
Metropolitan Opera House first staged the work on 11 December as a double-bill with ''
Orfeo ed Euridice'', with the same cast as the London premiere with Melba in the role of Nedda, De Lucia as Canio, and Ancona as Tonio. The Met again staged ''Pagliacci'' as a double-bill with the same cast and conductor, this time followed by ''Cavalleria rusticana'' on 22 December 1893 with
Emma Calvé as Santuzza, conducted by
Enrico Bevignani. The two operas have since been frequently performed in this double-bill, a pairing referred to in the operatic world colloquially as "Cav and Pag".
The Belgian premiere (in a French translation) took place on 14 February 1895 (
St. Valentine's day) at the
Theatre de la Monnaie,
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, with
Cecile Simonnet as Nedda, conducted by
Philippe Flon.
In 1902, the opera received its French premiere at the
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...
, with legendary tenor
Jean de Reszke as Canio in what would be his last public performance, as he would later retire from the stage to focus on teaching and to spend more time with his family.
''Pagliacci'' was produced alone in
Washington National Opera's November 1997 production by
Franco Zeffirelli. The re-organised
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived.
The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...
presented ''Pagliacci'' in 2016 on a double bill with Rachmaninoff's ''
Aleko''.
Roles
Synopsis
:Place:
Calabria
Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
, near
Montalto, on the
Feast of the Assumption
:Time: between 1865 and 1870
Prologue
During the orchestral introduction, Tonio, dressed as his
commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...
character Taddeo, pokes his head through the curtain, advances, and addresses the audience. ("Si può?... Si può?... Signore! Signori! ... Un nido di memorie"). He reminds the audience that actors have feelings too, and that the show is about real people. Tonio returns behind the curtain, which then rises for the main action.
Act 1
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the commedia troupe enters the village to the cheering of the villagers. Canio describes the night's performance: the troubles of Pagliaccio. He says the play will begin at , an agricultural method of time-keeping that means the play will begin an hour before sunset. As Nedda steps down from the cart, Tonio offers his hand, but Canio pushes him aside and helps her down himself.
The villagers suggest drinking at the tavern. Canio and Beppe accept, but Tonio stays behind. The villagers tease Canio that Tonio is planning an affair with Nedda. Canio warns everyone that while he may act the foolish husband in the play, in real life he will not tolerate other men making advances to Nedda. Shocked, a villager asks if Canio really suspects her. He says no, and sweetly kisses her on the forehead. As the church bells ring
vespers
Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...
, he and Beppe leave for the tavern, leaving Nedda alone.
Nedda is frightened by Canio's vehemence ("Qual fiamma avea nel guardo"), but the birdsong comforts her ("Stridono lassù"). Tonio returns and confesses his love for her, but she laughs. Enraged, Tonio grabs Nedda, but she takes a whip, strikes him and drives him off. Silvio, who is Nedda's lover, comes from the tavern, where he has left Canio and Beppe drinking. He asks Nedda to elope with him after the performance and, though she is afraid, she agrees. Tonio, who has been eavesdropping, leaves to inform Canio so that he might catch Silvio and Nedda together. Canio and Tonio return and, as Silvio escapes, Nedda calls after him, "I will always be yours!"

Canio chases Silvio, but does not catch him and does not see his face. He demands that Nedda tell him the name of her lover, but she refuses. He threatens her with a knife, but Beppe disarms him. Beppe insists that they prepare for the performance. Tonio tells Canio that her lover will give himself away at the play. A heartbroken Canio is left alone to put on his costume and prepare to laugh ("
Vesti la giubba" – "Put on the costume").
Act 2
As the crowd arrives, Nedda, costumed as
Colombina
Columbine ( Italian: Colombina; French: Colombine; ) is a stock character in the commedia dell'arte. She is Harlequin's mistress, a comic servant playing the tricky slave type, and wife of Pierrot. Rudlin and Crick use the Italian spelling C ...
, collects their money. She whispers a warning to Silvio, and the crowd cheers as the play begins.
Colombina's husband Pagliaccio has gone away until morning, and Taddeo is at the market. Alone, she anxiously awaits her lover
Arlecchino, who comes to serenade her ("") from beneath her window. Taddeo returns and confesses his love, but she mocks him. She lets Arlecchino in through the window. He boxes Taddeo's ears and kicks him out of the room, and the audience laughs.
Arlecchino and Colombina dine, and he gives her a sleeping
potion
A potion is a liquid "that contains medicine, poison, or something that is supposed to have magic powers." It derives from the Latin word ''potio'' which refers to a drink or the act of drinking. The term philtre is also used, often specifica ...
to use later, "so that when Pagliaccio returns, she can drug him and elope with Arlecchino." Taddeo then bursts in, warning them that Pagliaccio is suspicious of his wife and is about to return. As Arlecchino escapes through the window, Colombina tells him, "I will always be yours!"
As Pagliaccio enters, he hears Colombina speak this line and, now as Canio, exclaims "" – "Name of God! Those same words!" He tries to continue the play, but loses control and demands to know her lover's name. Nedda, hoping to keep to the performance, calls Canio by his stage name "Pagliaccio" to remind him of the audience's presence. He answers with his
arietta: "" – "I am not Pagliaccio!" He sings that if his face is pale, it is not from the stage makeup but from the shame she has brought him. The crowd is impressed by his emotional performance and cheers him, without realizing that it is real.
Nedda, trying to continue the play, admits that she has been visited by the innocent "Arlecchino". Canio, furious and forgetting the play, demands the name of her lover. Nedda swears she will never tell him, and it becomes apparent that they are not acting. Side-stage, Beppe asks Tonio to intervene, but Tonio refrains and prevents Beppe from halting the action. Silvio begins to fight his way toward the stage. Canio, grabbing a knife from the table, stabs Nedda. As she dies, she calls: "Help! Silvio!" Silvio attacks Canio, but Canio kills him as well. The horrified audience then hears the celebrated final line:
: "!" – "The comedy is finished!"
Assignment of the final line
In the original manuscript, Tonio sang the opera's final line, "", paralleling the prologue, also sung by Tonio. The appropriation of this final line by Canio dates back to 1895. John Wright has analysed the
dramaturgy of the opera in the context of assignment of the final line, and concluded that the original assignment of the final line to Tonio is the most consistent and appropriate assignment. Wright says that Tonio shows more deliberate control in his manipulation of the other characters in order to obtain his revenge upon Nedda, after she has rejected him, and is more aware of the demarcation between life and art. By contrast, Canio is unaware of the behind-the-scenes manipulations and surrenders control of his perception of the difference between life and art as the opera proceeds.
In the present day, the assignment of the final line to Canio has continued to be standard. Several exceptions, where Tonio delivers the final line, include:
* The December 1959 production at the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
, Covent Garden, directed by
Franco Zeffirelli
* A 1968 RAI-TV production directed by
Herbert von Karajan
* The
His Master's Voice
His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...
recording conducted by
Riccardo Muti (EMI CMS7 63650-2)
* The Philips recording conducted by Muti (Philips 0289 434 1312), in conjunction with live performances in Philadelphia in February 1992
* The 1998 English-language recording on Chandos (CHAN 3003)
* The 2007
Teatro Real production directed by
Giancarlo del Monaco, in which Tonio's prologue is inserted into the double-bill before the overture to ''Cavalleria rusticana'', the finale of which segues directly into the first act of ''Pagliacci'' (Opus Arte OA0983D)
* The 2008
Seattle Opera production
* The 2010 Opera Grand Rapids production
* The 2014
San Diego Opera production
*The 2015
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
production
*The 2019
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino production.
*The 2024 Opera Holland Park production
Orchestration
The orchestra consists of 2
flute
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
s, 1
piccolo, 2
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites.
The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
s, 1
cor anglais
The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...
, 2
clarinet
The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell.
Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
s, 1
bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common Soprano clarinet, soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays no ...
, 3
bassoon
The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
s, 4
horns, 3
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
s, 3
trombone
The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...
s, 1
tuba
The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...
, 2
harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...
s,
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
,
tubular bells
Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the Percussion instrument, percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillons, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the soun ...
, percussion (triangle, cymbals, bass drum, glockenspiel, and tam-tam) and strings. Additionally, there is an onstage violin, oboe, trumpet, and
bass drum
The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...
.
Recordings and other media
In 1907, ''Pagliacci'' was the first opera to be recorded in its entirety, with the Puerto Rican tenor
Antonio Paoli
Antonio Paoli (14 April 1871 – 24 August 1946) was a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican tenor. At the height of his fame, he was known as "The King of Tenors and The Tenor of Kings." He is considered to be the first Puerto Rican to reach internat ...
as Canio and under Leoncavallo's personal supervision. In 1931, it became the first complete opera to be filmed with sound, in a now-obscure version starring the tenor Fernando Bertini as Canio, in his only film, with the
San Carlo Opera Company. Franco Zeffirelli directed his 1981 La Scala production with
Plácido Domingo
José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...
and
Teresa Stratas
Teresa Stratas (born May 26, 1938) is a Canadian operatic soprano and actress of Greeks, Greek descent. She is especially well known for her award-winning recording of Alban Berg's ''Lulu (opera), Lulu''. She is formally retired.
Early life an ...
for a
1982 television airing, which has since been released on DVD. The movie's soundtrack received a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
nomination for Best Opera Recording. ''Pagliacci'' was also recorded in English in 1997, and released commercially in 1998, for the
Chandos "Opera in English" label with
Dennis O'Neill as Canio,
Alan Opie as Tonio, and
Rosa Mannion as Nedda.
In 1991,
Kent State University
Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...
student Michael Mould began translating ''Pagliacci'' into English for a comics adaptation, but died on
USAir Flight 405 before he could complete it.
Marc Andreyko finished Mould's translation as ''The Clowns'', a
one-shot written by
P. Craig Russell and illustrated by Galen Showman. Published in 1998 by
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...
, ''The Clowns'' is dedicated in memory of Mould.
References in popular culture
* In the
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
short story ''Swan Song'', a tale of revenge referencing
Tosca
''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...
, the final line is "la commedia e finita!"
* In the 1936 film
The Great Ziegfeld
''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical film, musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Lui ...
, a section of "
Vesti la giubba" is featured during the famously large-scale "
A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" sequence. A closeup of Canio marks the only cut in the entire scene.
* In ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
''
comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
s and media adaptations, the
Joker, an insane
supervillain
A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...
who resembles a clown with homicidal tendencies, often makes references to this opera. For instance, the character makes a reference to the lyrics in the story, "The Case of the Joker's Crime Circus" in ''Batman'' #4. In addition, the opera is featured in the ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
''
television series
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
episode, "
The Joker is Wild" where the Joker is disguised as the lead character of the opera, singing ''
Vesti la giubba''.
* The song "
(I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over", written by
Allie Wrubel and
Herb Magidson and popularized in 1939 by both the
Larry Clinton and
Jimmy Dorsey orchestras, references Pagliacci in the lines, "I guess I'll have to play Pagliacci and get myself a clown's disguise/And learn to laugh like Pagliacci with tears in my eyes." The song was most notably covered by
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
in 1961 for
Motown Records
Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
.
* The song "
Mr. Sandman", written by
Pat Ballard and popularized in 1954 by
The Chordettes
The Chordettes were an American female vocal quartet, specializing in traditional pop music. They are best known for their 1950s hit singles " Mr. Sandman" and " Lollipop", both of which sold over a million copies.
Career
The group organized i ...
, references Pagliacci in the lines, "Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci, And lots of wavy hair like
Liberace."
* The 1970
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles hit "
The Tears of a Clown" references Pagliacci in the lines "Just like Pagliacci did, I try to keep my sadness hid". An earlier song cowritten by Robinson, "My Smile Is Just a Frown Turned Upside," sung by
Carolyn Crawford in 1964, had included the same line.
* In the 49th episode of the sitcom ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
'', "
The Opera", the characters attend a production of Pagliacci.
* In ''
Batman: The Animated Series'', Episode 52 "Birds of a Feather", Story by Chuck Menville and directed by Frank Pour, Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, also known as the Penguin, goes out with Veronica Vreeland to see the opera I Pagliacci. In which he tries to sing with the clown, but he is way out of tune.
* In ''
Shock Corridor'', one of the patients is named after the opera. This patient has a caricature of Canio above his bed.
* In ''
Cabrini'', the famous solo ''Vesti La Giubba'' is sung by
Rolando Villazón playing Enrico DiSalvo.
* The protagonist of ''Pagliacci'', Canio, also appears as a legendary joker card in the
poker
Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...
-themed video game
Balatro. The Canio joker card grows more powerful when
face cards are destroyed, a nod to the murders Canio commits.
* The opera is performed in ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' episode "
The Italian Bob" (2005) in which
Sideshow Bob sings the final verse of
Vesti la giubba.
["You think you don't know opera? Here are 19 ways you're wrong (at least about ''Pagliacci'')"]
by Helen Schwab, '' The Charlotte Observer'' via Opera Carolina, 31 March 2016
See also
*''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
''
*''
Delilah''
Notes
References
Bibliography
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* Imbesi, Carmelo and Zangarà , Carmen, ''Serenata di Arlecchino da I Pagliacci di Ruggero Leoncavallo'', Arrangement for guitar and voice, Num Cat. JKMED 2201, ISBN 9791220888936, JK Mertz Edition, 2021
Further reading
* Haggin, Bernard H., ''Conversations with Toscanini'', New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1959
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External links
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Libretto in ItalianLibretto in EnglishList of ''Pagliacci'' recordings on operadis-opera-discography.org, as of 2009
{{Authority control
Operas by Ruggero Leoncavallo
Italian-language operas
Verismo operas
Commedia dell'arte
1892 operas
Operas
Operas set in Italy
Operas adapted into films
Fiction about uxoricide
Works about clowns