MobTunes

It is almost impossible to see {|Pietro Mascagni|}'s one-act opera Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) without its inevitable partner, {|Ruggiero Leoncavallo|}'s I Pagliacci (The Clowns), although the two works were written separately. But the coupling clearly works. "Cav" (as it's called) is sometimes known as the Italian Saint Matthew Passion for its barely concealed religious intensity, and here its conductor, the great {|Gianandrea Gavazzeni|}, understands perfectly how to communicate emotion with purity and intensity. Cav was the opera featured in THE GODFATHER, PART III. The dramatically gifted Romanian soprano {|Julia Varády|} is always a pleasure to hear, and the adorable {|Mirella Freni|} in Pagliacci is equally charming. Of course tenor {|Luciano Pavarotti|}, who stars in both operas, hardly needs an introduction.