Rian Evans, The Guardian
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“Leoncavallo’s short opera has been downscaled for a chamber orchestra and given a simple but effective staging, rounded off with some surprise razzle dazzle”
These dates are all in the past.
Opening night: Friday 25 October 2024, Ludlow Assembly
Final performance: Friday 22 November 2024, Hafren, Newtown
Mid Wales Opera are back on tour this autumn with Leoncavallo’s legendary operatic thriller ‘Pagliacci’, or ‘Clowns’. Canio, the leader of a touring troupe of comedy actors, discovers that his wife Nedda is having an affair. But before finding out who it is, he must go on stage and perform the role of… a despairing husband whose wife is having an affair. The performance culminates with the terrifying blurring of reality between stage and real life witnessed by a terrified audience. Packed with sensational music, Pagliacci retains its cult status as the ultimate operatic ‘play-within-a-play’.
MWO’s new production features a cast of 5 singers and 5 musicians, with a new English translation by Richard Studer, and a new chamber arrangement by Jonathan Lyness. As previously with SmallStages, the opera forms just the first half of the evening. The second half will feature a newly created cabaret of popular and entertaining musical items featuring all singers and musicians for audiences to revel in and enjoy.
Duration:
First half 65 mins
Second half 35 mins
Music and Libretto Ruggero Leoncavallo
English Translation Richard Studer
Chamber Arrangement Jonathan Lyness
Director/Designer Richard Studer
Music Director Jonathan Lyness
Canio: Robyn Lyn Evans
Nedda: Elin Pritchard
Tonio: Philip Smith
Peppe: Sam Marston
Silvio: Johnny Herford
Violin: Elenid Owen
Cello: Nicola Pearce
Clarinet: Peryn Clement-Evans
Harp: Elfair Grug
Piano: Jonathan Lyness
Thanks to the enormous outpouring of love – and money! – from our friends and supporters, and from opera lovers across the country – and a hugely important grant from Powys County Council’s Shared Prosperity Fund allocation, we are now actively developing our artistic plans for the next two years… find out more …or…
