Background
The son of a judge, Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Italian opera composer, was born on 23 April 1857, in Naples, Italy.
The son of a judge, Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Italian opera composer, was born on 23 April 1857, in Naples, Italy.
After some years spent in teaching and in ineffectual attempts to obtain the production of more than one opera, his Pagliacci was performed at Milan in 1892 on May 21, with immediate success; and next year his Medici was also produced there. In 1906 he conducted Pagliacci in the United States and Canada.
It is the composer's most widely known work. Although he wrote numerous other operas, none achieved more than fair success.
In addition he composed several operettas, a ballet, a symphonic poem, and songs.
Egged on by the jealous Tonio (baritone), whom Nedda has repulsed, Canio had overheard Nedda and Silvio together just before the performance began, although he has not recognized Silvio.
Silvio's rush to her defense gives him away and Canio kills him also, leaving the village audience stunned by his shocking ending to the familiar Harlequin-Columbine play.
The opera is set more or less in the time in which it was written and it is one of the purest examples of the verismo (realism) school of Italian opera.
An important part of the opera is the short prologue consisting of an aria, sung by Tonio before the curtain rises, which explains the composer's purpose in writing the opera.
But neither the latter nor Chatterton (1896)-both early works-obtained any favour; and it was not till La Boheme was performed in 1897 at Venice that his talent obtained public confirmation.
Subsequent operas by Leoncavallo were Zaza, and Der Roland (1904).
((Vocal Score). Italian/English. Translated by Machlis.)