Cavalleria Rusticana is a short but very dramatic opera set in Sicily and deals with themes of love, jealousy and betrayal. In this production, the action was moved to the Sicilian coast in 1960. Turiddu goes to Munich as a guest worker and swears by his lover Lola eternal loyalty. As soon as he leaves, he climbs into one with his suitcase pushed onto the stage Train, get married Lola the rich one Alfio. As Turiddu When he comes back he is disappointed and gets pregnant Santuzza. This is where the drama begins. Turiddu continues to feel too Lola attracted, the pregnant one Santuzza and the husband Alfio are horrified. In the end everyone kills each other. So it doesn’t work without weapons. A gun appears in the first stage setting, but the singers never point it at the audience, only at the wall. There is no clear death scene at the end – no bang, no blood, no dead bodies.
Stage design
The stage is black and has black blinds all around that are pulled up and down. In the middle of the stage there is a round revolving stage with black and white striped furniture. 17 round lamps hang above her. All figures are dressed in white – the men’s choir in white suits, the women’s choir in white dresses. The lighting varies depending on the dramaturgy: from cold white to warm white and yellow to dramatic red. During an Easter procession, clearly recognizable by the bishop standing in the middle, large angel wings floated down and were strapped to the white figures with red-painted faces. With that they walked meaningfully across the stage – fallen angels? An image that confuses rather than explains anything. What exactly is this scene supposed to say? Does that have any meaning? Or is this just meant to cause confusion?
The music of Cavalleria Rusticane, especially the “Intermezzo” aria of this opera, was used in various films, often associated with mafia themes and dramatic conflicts, for example: “Fellini Satyricon” (1969), “The Godfather” (1972), “The Godfather III” (1990), “Like a Raging Bull” (1980) and “In the Name of the Father” (1993)
Intermezzo (approx. 3.5 min):
Unfortunately, the intermezzo aria in this performance was nowhere near as atmospheric.
The Trailer to Cavalleria Rusticana was also confusing because it mixed two opera performances. It’s a combination of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacciwhich makes the whole situation even more unclear.
Trailer for CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA / PAGLIACCI (approx. 1.5 min):
