Displaying items by tag: SeokJong Baek

In a world where our attention span seems to be shrinking, it’s comforting to know there are still one-shots available for our entertainment like a limited mini-series, a short story, a collection of poetry, or in the case of operatic masterpieces, double-feature shows. One of the drawbacks to newcomers with the opera is the time and focus the productions require of the audience. Hours long symphonies and classical music scores coupled with lengthy and drawn-out emotive performances can be difficult to follow for new patrons, particularly with the false sense of urgency our modern world requires. Rather than let an art form die out simply to accommodate the times, it’s wonderful to see the Lyric Opera present one-shot masterpieces like Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci now playing at the Lyric Opera House this month.

Quinn Kelsey as Tonio and Yulia Matochkina as Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana at Lyric Opera House.

Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci are two 19^th-century Italian operas that strip love of its overwrought grandeur and show it for what it can become: messy, corrosive, and even fatal. Short in length but packed with unforgettable fervor, Cav/Pag, as it’s colloquially known in the operaverse, delivers quick emotional blows to the heart. Cavalleria rusticana transports the audience to a Sicilian village on Easter morning, where sacred rituals can’t drown out explosive scandal. Santuzza, a woman shunned by her community and cast aside by her lover Turiddu, clings to her crumbling faith. As she pleads for forgiveness and recognition, she discovers that Turiddu has resumed his affair with Lola, who just so happens to be married to Alfio, a local businessman. As the church bells ring, so does the call for blood to spill. In the church square, as villagers gather to celebrate, personal betrayals erupt into public vengeance. Pagliacci centers on a traveling troupe of performers who arrive in a Sicilian village where envy and deception brew behind the scenes. Canio, the troupe’s leader, learns from Tonio that his wife and leading lady, Nedda, has taken Silvio as her lover. Tonio also rages with an unrequited love for Nedda. Canio must go on with the show, playing a clown whose wife betrays him, a role which hews all too close to his reality. Beneath its painted smiles and vaudeville spectacle, Pagliacci reveals a stage where illusion shatters and truth bleeds through the cracks.

Quinn Kelsey and the Company of Cavalleria rusticana. 

Both operas run times are roughly one hour and thirty minutes (give or take) with an intermission to break up the two stories. The storylines are easy to follow with an emotional depth that is relatable whether in commiseration or contempt, making this run a perfect performance for operatic neophytes. It’s easy to see why these two productions are frequently coupled together. Both written in and first performed in the 1890s, the operas broke from the traditional focus on mythology and royalty to ground themselves in the realistic and often gritty depictions of everyday life. Both storylines feature jilted and scorned lovers, duplicitous deeds, and depict what can happen when someone cannot regulate their emotions. Despite hundreds of years between the first performances and the show today, the stories still resonate with audiences proving humans are going to human, adultery is a catalyst towards conflict, and love and vengeance can be a lethal combination. The relatable themes are accompanied by a beautiful musical score that’s regularly featured and parodied in modern media. Led by the incomparable Enrique Mazzola, Lyric’s music director, the score adds a gravitas to the incredible talents of lyric newcomers mezzo-soprano Yulia Matochkina as Santuzza alongside tenor SeokJong Baek as Turiddu and tenor Russell Thomas as Canio and soprano Gabriella Reyes as Nedda. Alongside an incredible ensemble cast, set against an incredibly detailed and charming set designed by Michael Yeargan, the music and voices tug at heartstrings and tickle the brain in the most remarkable ways bridging time and cultures to bring these stories to life.

I’m not going to lie and say the opera is for everyone. The productions are long and require a dedicated time block and focus that not everyone can afford. It’s also often cost prohibitive for many audiences. The Lyric Opera has made incredible strides to lower the cost of admission while staging productions that require no prior knowledge or experience with the medium. As a culture, opera is not always the most welcoming of communities particularly when beloved productions are running. If you haven’t seen the opera a dozen times and can speak about sopranos and tenors as one would old friends, you’re likely to see a shoulder as cold as the theatre mid-performance. But Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci is completely different. Two one-shot stories divided by a welcomed intermission featuring storylines that are as scandalous and captivating as any Netflix mini-series. You won’t receive judgmental looks for not knowing the unspoken operatic code of conduct nor for not playing theatre conductor and knowing every rise and fall within the scores. With this performance, you simply get to be immersed into the world of opera with a relatable and down-to-earth production that highlights the best of what it has to offer; incredible scores, powerhouse talent, and one-shot drama that will have you both laughing and gasping. If you’ve ever been curious about the opera or wanted to check off a theatrical or Chicago bucket list, Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci is the perfect opportunity for you. And who doesn’t love a good one-shot story set to a classical and dramatic score?

Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci is now showing at the Lyric Opera House (20 N Wacker Dr, Chicago) through November 23^rd. Sung in Italian with projected English titles, it has a run time of 2 hours and 55 minutes, including 1 intermission. Get your tickets today at lyricopera.org to experience this limited run of these Italian masterpieces today.