Padua and Veneto Orchestra

A New Production by the Municipality of Bassano del Grappa and the Municipality of Padua 

Città di Piazzola sul Brenta Choir conducted by Paolo Piana

melodrama in one act
music by Pietro Mascagni
program by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti
based on the short story of the same name by Giovanni Verga
prologue by  Luciano Berio for a capella choir “E si fussi pisci”
Director Marco Angius

Characters and actors:
Santuzza Victoria Khoroshunova
Turiddu Eduardo Niave
Lucia, mother of Turiddu Eleonora Filipponi
Alfio, cartwright Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar
Lola, wife of Alfio Alexandra Meteleva
Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto

Opera returns to the festival program with a new concert performance of Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, one of the most famous works in the Italian verismo repertoire, composed in 1890.
Set in a Sicilian village on Easter Sunday, it tells a story of love, jealousy, and revenge that unfolds in a single act, with great dramatic intensity. Mascagni’s music is direct, incisive, and rich in memorable melodies, capable of immediately expressing the feelings of the characters who bring to life a tragic story culminating in a tragic duel, a symbol of an archaic and inexorable code of honor.
The opera will open with a performance of a composition by Luciano Berio for a cappella choir: E si fussi pisci, in which the voices, in addition to singing a beautiful folk melody, use tongue clicks and vocal effects to recreate the arrival of a Sicilian cart, the clatter of the horse’s hooves on the cobblestones, and the horse’s whinny before the cunto, Giovanni Verga’s story, begins.

The choral version is dedicated to Umberto Eco; the brief text is in Sicilian dialect but easy to understand:
E si fussi pisci lu mari passassi / E si fussi aceddu ‘nni tia vinissi. // E vucca cu’ vucca ti vurria vasari / E visu cu visu parlari cu’ tia [And if I were a fish, I’d cross the sea / And if I were a bird, I’d come to you. // And mouth to mouth I’d want to kiss you / And face to face I’d want to talk with you].

The cast of this production is extraordinary, starting with Alisa Kolosova (Santuzza), who has performed to great acclaim at the most prestigious opera houses and festivals around the world, including the Paris Opera, La Scala in Milan, the Salzburg Festival, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Arena di Verona. Likewise, the baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar, who hails from Mongolia and is among the most acclaimed of his generation, has already performed at the most important theaters and venues, such as the Bolshoi in Moscow and the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Regio in Parma, the Rome Opera, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, and Mexican tenor Eduardo Niave, who is establishing himself as one of the most sought-after singers on the international scene.

Plot
The act takes place in a small village in Sicily on Easter Sunday. The opera begins with the voice of Turiddu singing a serenade to his beloved Lola, even though he knows that while he was away on military service, she married Alfio. Among the crowd of villagers celebrating is Santuzza, Turiddu’s current fiancée. Finding herself in an extremely complicated situation, Santuzza decides to seek advice from Lucia, Turiddu’s mother.
Lucia says that Turiddu has gone to buy wine for the celebration; when Santuzza counters that Comparo Turiddu was seen loitering around town, Lucia, fearing that someone might overhear their conversation, hushes her and asks her to come inside. Santuzza, however, declines the invitation.
Alfio arrives at Lucia’s house to visit Turiddu’s mother. Alfio asks her about the wine for the party, and Lucia repeats that Turiddu was taking care of it. Alfio replies that he had seen Turiddu that very morning, loitering around his house.
As soon as Alfio exits the scene, Santuzza reveals to Lucia the ongoing affair between Turiddu and Lola. Lucia, stunned, turns to the Virgin Mary to pray for her son’s sin.
Turiddu then enters, bickering with Santuzza, followed by Lola, who also gets into an argument with Santuzza.
Lola exits the scene to go to church; at this point, the argument between Turiddu and Santuzza turns violent. When Turiddu goes so far as to physically assault Santuzza, she curses him, wishing him a miserable Easter. Turiddu, too, eventually goes to church. Santuzza, deeply hurt and embittered, reveals to Alfio the ongoing affair between his wife and Turiddu. After the service, Turiddu takes it upon himself to offer wine to the villagers, with the ulterior motive of spending more time in Lola’s company. Alfio is also offered wine, but he refuses it. Turiddu then moves to embrace him as a conciliatory gesture; this turns out to be a ruse to bite his ear and challenge him to a duel.
Turiddu embraces his mother and urges her to look after Santuzza. The scene ends with a scream rising from the crowd of townspeople: “They’ve killed our friend Turiddu!”