Guide Note

Pagliacci, meaning Clowns, is a tragic opera written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo.

Fast Facts

1. Writer: Ruggero Leoncavallo
2. Composer: Ruggero Leoncavallo.
3. Premiered at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan on May 21, 1892 #Conducted by Arturo Toscanini
4. Considered a staple of the standard operatic repertoire

Pagliacci takes place in Calabria, Italy,between 1865 and 1870.

• Role/ Role in Commedia/ Voice Type
• Canio, head of the troupe /Pagliaccio / tenor
• Nedda, Canio's wife /Colombina /soprano
• Tonio, the fool /Taddeo /baritone
• Beppe, actor /Arlecchino /tenor
• Silvio, Nedda's lover / baritone