Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci

November 01. 2025 - November 23. 2025

Upcoming Dates

November 01. 2025 - November 23. 2025

Opera's most thrilling double bill returns after more than 15 years. Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci

This duo of passionate one-act operas explores the depths of spurned lovers’ grief and the lengths they’ll go to in avenging betrayal. Deadly love triangles unfold against starkly contrasted backdrops of an idyllic Sicilian countryside and a chaotic urban center.

Music Director Enrique Mazzola leads a a world-class cast that includes Lyric favorites Russell Thomas, Quinn Kelsey, and Gabriella Reyes in Elijah Moshinsky’s original production.

With two shorter operas in a single performance, this is a perfect sampler for new operagoers. More seasoned audiences know it’s a delicious opportunity to revisit these tragic classics.

  • Language: Sung in Italian with projected English titles
  • Running Time: 2 hours and 55 minutes, including 1 intermission
  • Location: Lyric Opera House
  • Composers: Pietro Mascagni & Ruggero Leoncavallo
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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.

Artists

Peter McClintock
Revival Director

 

* Lyric debut
** Ryan Opera Center alumni

Credits

Photo credit: John Shaw/Lyric Opera of Chicago