What passionate program ABAO offered us in the penultimate edition of this season! Two nice operas, of the taste of the public, in which universal human feelings are expressed without large appendices; it seemed a sure bet, and the experiment was a success. And I call it an experiment, because the two works, though located in different eras and places, came together, thanks to the stage adaptation. The action of Cavalleria rusticana takes place in a Sicilian village, while the history of Pagliacci takes place in Calabria. At this time two operas were located in an indefinite town in southern Italy, in the forties of the 20th century (the aesthetic of Italian neo-realism was visible).

In the two stories the jealousy and death are the protagonists, and through a game with interpreters, it seems a continuation of the rustican Pagliacci Cavalleria or, more than a continuation, the second shows the moral consequence of the first. In other words: The great tenor Gregory Kunde plays in Cavalleria the role of an unfaithful husband, while in the next opera Kund suffers the infidelity of his wife, becoming the character of Canio. The decor was kept in two operas, increasing the illusion of continuity. In addition, the powerful scores of Pietro Mascagni and Ruggero Leoncavallo combine perfectly to round the overall result.

In this program, we had weighty interpreters. We will start with the cavallería: Mezzosoprano Daniela Barcellone, in addition to showing the vocal qualities, gave her character points of naivety and helplessness, making Santuzza an unforgettable patient; and the tenor Gregory Kunde mentioned above, exercised the role of Turiddu effectively, but appeared truly brilliant in the character of Canio de Pagliacci, as it made a much more felt interpretation. Continuing with this opera, we should highlight the interpretation of soprano Inva Mula, who made a wonderful Nedda, representing the opposing aspects of this character: discarded but at the same time miserable, because by wanting to live in freedom he discovered death.

The Bilbao Opera Choir had a lot of work in Cavalleria rusticana, where the group scenes are important. They were very well run by Boris Dujin. The children's choir Kantika Korala also acted successfully, under the baton of Basilio Astúlez. The Symphony Orchestra of Navarra, for its part, without too many emotions, is a bit poor. And apart from music, as has already been mentioned, we would highlight the artistic effect of the simplistic and realistic scenography of Gabriele Moreschi.