Opera's most thrilling double feature: Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci open at Lyric on Saturday, November 1

 
CHICAGO (10/31/2025) — Passion, betrayal, and heartbreak blaze across the stage when Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci come to Lyric Opera of Chicago, November 1–23, 2025.

In these iconic works — known together as Cav/Pag — ordinary lives are pushed to the brink, erupting in two of opera’s most unforgettable finales. Music Director Enrique Mazzola conducts this operatic double feature, which is presented in director Elijah Moshinsky’s Lyric production by revival director Peter McClintock.

Yulia Matochkina and SeokJong Baek make radiant Lyric debuts in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, joined by Lyric favorite Quinn Kelsey in a story steeped in Sicilian life and song. Kelsey then returns in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, alongside Russell Thomas — as opera’s most infamous clown, whose laughter conceals the turmoil behind his mask — and returning favorite Gabriella Reyes.

We hope audiences can join us for these two timeless operas — not seen at Lyric in more than 15 years — that spark the kind of emotional fire only opera can ignite.
 
 
A high-resolution video trailer will be available soon on Lyric's YouTube channel and in Lyric's online press room.

Read the digital program book of Cav/Pag before the performance.

Performance dates for Cav/Pag are November 1 and 15 at 7:30 p.m.; November 4 and 7 at 7 p.m., and matinee performances on November 9, 12, 20, and 23 at 2 p.m. All performances take place at the Lyric Opera House, 20 North Wacker Drive, Chicago.

Cav/Pag is performed in Italian, with easy-to-follow projected English titles above the stage.

A total running time of 2 hours and 55 minutes, including one intermission.

Audio description, a guided touch tour of the set, and SoundShirts are available at the Sunday, November 9 matinee performance. Braille and large-print programs, high-powered opera glasses, assistive listening devices, and booster seats are available from the coat checks on the Steiner Parquet (main floor) at all performances. For more information on these and other accessibility assets, visit lyricopera.org/accessibility.

For tickets and information, call 312.827.5600 or go to lyricopera.org/cavpag.

 

Sponsors

Lyric’s presentation of Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci are generously sponsored by Josef & Margot Lakonishok and Sonia Florian*.

Maestro Enrique Mazzola is generously sponsored by Alice & John Butler, H. Gael Neeson, Sylvia Neil & Daniel Fischel, the Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation, Mary Stowell, and the Zell Family Foundation as members of the Enrique Circle.

Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Chorus is generously sponsored by an Anonymous Lead Sponsor.

*deceased

Lyric Opera's Season is presented by

Lyric Opera of Chicago acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council.

Illinois Arts Council

About Lyric

About Lyric

Lyric Opera of Chicago is committed to redefining what it means to experience great opera. The company is driven to deliver consistently excellent artistry through innovative, relevant, celebratory programming that engages and energizes new and traditional audiences.

Under the leadership of General Director, President & CEO John Mangum and Music Director Enrique Mazzola, Lyric is dedicated to reflecting, and drawing strength from, the diversity of Chicago. Lyric offers, through innovation, collaboration, and evolving learning opportunities, ever-more exciting, accessible, and thought-provoking audience and community experiences. We also stand committed to training the artists of the future, through The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center; and to becoming increasingly diverse across our audiences, staff, programming, and artists—magnifying the welcoming pull of our art form, our company, and our city.

Through the timeless power of voice, the splendor of a great orchestra and chorus, theater, dance, design, and truly magnificent stagecraft, Lyric is devoted to immersing audiences in worlds both familiar and unexpected, creating shared experiences that resonate long after the curtain comes down.

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For more information on Lyric's upcoming 2024/25 Season, visit lyricopera.org/newseason.

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