Pagliacci

Baritone Michael Chioldi returns to Seattle to sing Prologue/Tonio/Taddeo in PAGLIACCI.  As Tonio he declares his love for Nedda (while her husband is at the bar), saying that “Even though everyone thinks I’m ugly and ridiculous I have a loving heart, I desire love the same as everyone else.” When she rejects him with mocking laughter, love turns into hate—and the horrifying conclusion becomes inevitable. Carlo Montanaro conducts the orchestra of Seattle Opera. Photo by Sunny Martini.

MICHAEL CHIOLDI as Tonio

Fresh off his Seattle Opera debut (as Fiorello in THE BARBER OF SILVIO) baritone Michael J. Hawk sings Silvio in PAGLIACCI. This hot young village stud romances Nedda, wife of Canio, when she returns to his village: "Why did you bewitch me only to abandon me without mercy? Why give me your kiss with such scorching passion? Even if you’ve forgotten what happened between us, I can’t, I want to experience such love again." Carlo Montanaro conducts the orchestra of Seattle Opera. Photo by Philip Newton

MICHAEL J. HAWK as Silvio

Soprano Monica Conesa, a native of Florida, makes her US and Seattle debuts as Nedda in PAGLIACCI. Trapped in a marriage to a man she does not love, Nedda in the aria “Stridono lassù” idealizes the freedom of the birds, who can “wander the roads of heaven, follow a fantasy, and disappear amid golden clouds.” Carlo Montanaro conducts the orchestra of Seattle Opera. Photo by Philip Newton.

MONICA CONESA sings Nedda's aria

Diego Torre makes his Seattle Opera debut singing Canio in PAGLIACCI. At the center of the show he sings one of the most affecting arias ever written, the cry of a clown whose heart is breaking: “Put on your costume and white-face; the people paid, they want to laugh. And if Harlequin steals your Columbina, laugh, Pagliaccio, and everyone will applaud. Turn your anguish and tears into jokes; into a silly face your heartbreak and sorrow. Laugh, Pagliaccio, laugh at your shattered life. Laugh at the misery which is poisoning your heart.” Carlo Montanaro conducts the orchestra of Seattle Opera. Photo by Philip Newton.

DIEGO TORRE sings “Vesti la giubba”

The audience for the show-within-a-show, in Act 2 of PAGLIACCI, grows rowdy and impatient waiting for the curtain to go up. When a performer rings a bell to indicate it’s (finally) time to begin, the audience all scream “Silenzio!” (Silence) at each other, seemingly reluctant to follow their own advice. Carlo Montanaro conducts the orchestra of Seattle Opera. Photo by Philip Newton.

PAGLIACCI: “On with the show!”

Shortly into the first act of PAGLIACCI, church bells call the villagers off to vespers, before they return for the commedia dell'arte show at sunset. Carlo Montanaro conducted the Seattle Opera chorus and orchestra in 2024.

PAGLIACCI Chorus of the Bells

Founded in 1963, Seattle Opera is a leading American opera company. The company presents the classics of the European repertoire as well as new works of American opera. Frequent productions of Wagner's RING, beginning in 1975, established the company's worldwide reputation. Seattle Opera usually presents five opera productions each year.