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{{short description|Opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox opera
| name              = Pagliacci
| composer          = [[Ruggero Leoncavallo]]
| image             = Pagliacci Original Score Cover.jpg
| image_upright     = 
| caption           = Cover of first piano/vocal score, published in 1892
| librettist        = Ruggero Leoncavallo
| language          = Italian
| premiere_date     = {{Start date|1892|05|21|||df=y}}
| premiere_location = [[Teatro Dal Verme]], Milan
}}

'''''Pagliacci''''' ({{IPA|it|paʎˈʎattʃi}}; literal translation, 'Clowns'){{efn|The title is sometimes incorrectly rendered in English with a definite article as ''I pagliacci''. {{lang|it|Pagliacci}} is the Italian plural for "clowns", and although ''i'' is the corresponding plural definite article, it is not used in the original title.}} is an [[Italian opera]] in a prologue and two acts, with music and [[libretto]] by [[Ruggero Leoncavallo]]. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a [[commedia dell'arte]] theatrical company, who murders his wife Nedda and her lover Silvio on stage during a performance. Canio portrays on stage the character of Pagliaccio ([[Pierrot]]), while Nedda portays Pierrot's unfaithful lover [[Columbina]]. 

''Pagliacci'' premiered at the [[Teatro Dal Verme]] in Milan on 21 May 1892, conducted by [[Arturo Toscanini]], with [[Adelina Stehle]] as Nedda, [[Fiorello Giraud]] as Canio, [[Victor Maurel]] as Tonio, and [[Mario Ancona]] as Silvio. Soon after its Italian premiere, the opera played in London (with [[Nellie Melba]] as Nedda) and in New York (on 15 June 1893, with Agostino Montegriffo as Canio). ''Pagliacci'' is the best-known of Leoncavallo's ten operas and remains a staple of the repertoire.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stewart |first=Henry |date=February 2016 |title=Operapedia: ''Pagliacci'' |url=http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2016/2/Departments/Operapedia_%E2%80%94_Pagliacci.html |journal=[[Opera News]] |volume=80 |issue=8 |access-date=2017-02-19 |archive-date=2021-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308120835/https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2016/2/Departments/Operapedia_%E2%80%94_Pagliacci.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Pagliacci'' is often staged with ''[[Cavalleria rusticana]]'' by [[Pietro Mascagni]], a double bill known colloquially as "Cav/Pag".

==Origin and disputes==
Leoncavallo was a little-known composer when [[Pietro Mascagni]]'s ''[[Cavalleria rusticana]]'' premiered around 1890. After seeing Mascagni's success, Leoncavallo decided to write an opera in response: one act composed in the [[verismo]] style.

Leoncavallo based the story of ''Pagliacci'' on an incident from his childhood:<ref name="Leoncavallo">{{cite journal|jstor=25119331|last=Leoncavallo|first=R.|title=How I Wrote ''Pagliacci''|journal=[[North American Review]]|volume=175|issue=552|pages=652–654|date=November 1902}}</ref> the 1865 murder of a Leoncavallo family servant, Gaetano Scavello, killed by Gaetano D'Alessandro, with his brother Luigi acting as accomplice. The incident stemmed from a series of perceived romantic entanglements involving Scavello, Luigi D'Alessandro, and a village girl with whom both men were infatuated.{{sfn|Dryden|2007|p=5}} Leoncavallo's father, a judge, presided as magistrate over the criminal investigation.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ardoin |first1=John |title=Apropos ''Wozzeck'' |journal=[[The Opera Quarterly]]|year=1985|volume=3 |issue=3 |page=68 |doi=10.1093/oq/3.3.68}}</ref>

Leoncavallo originally titled his story ''Il pagliaccio'' (''The Clown''). The baritone [[Victor Maurel]], who was cast as the first Tonio, requested that Leoncavallo change the title from the singular ''Il pagliaccio'' to the plural ''I Pagliacci'', to broaden dramatic interest from Canio alone to include Tonio (his own role).{{sfn|Dryden|2007|p=37}}

The French author [[Catulle Mendès]] sued Leoncavallo for [[plagiarism]] after learning of the plot of Leoncavallo's libretto from an 1894 French translation. Mendès thought it resembled his 1887 play ''La Femme de Tabarin'' ("Tabarin's Wife"), which was structured as a play-within-the-play and featured a clown murdering his wife. Leoncavallo pleaded ignorance of Mendès's play.<ref name="Leoncavallo" /> Later, there were counter-accusations that Mendès's play resembled Don [[Manuel Tamayo y Baus]]'s ''Un Drama Nuevo'' (1867). Mendès dropped his lawsuit. Scholar [[Matteo Sansone (musicologist)|Matteo Sansone]] has suggested that Leoncavallo had ample opportunity to be exposed to new French art and musical works while living in Paris from 1882 to 1888, including potentially Mendès's play, another version of ''La femme de Tabarin'' by Paul Ferrier, and ''Tabarin'', an opera composed by [[Émile Pessard]] that was based on Ferrier's play.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sansone|first=Matteo|title=The 'Verismo' of Ruggero Leoncavallo: A Source Study of ''Pagliacci''|journal=[[Music & Letters]]|volume=70|issue=3|pages=342–362|year=1989|doi=10.1093/ml/70.3.342}}</ref>

==Composition==
The opening Prologue was written for Maurel "as an afterthought", as Leoncavallo said in a conversation with the critic and singing teacher [[Herman Klein]] during his visit to London for the UK premiere in 1893: he wrote it "as an inducement to a clever, but rather egotistical baritone to sing the part of Tonio, who felt it wasn't important enough for an artist of his distinction. Perhaps he was right. Anyhow I thought the matter over and hit upon the idea that a prologue, sung before the curtain by one of the humblest characters, would prove something of a novelty and by no means out of place. Being, as you know, my own librettist, I quickly wrote the words and sketched the music. My baritone was delighted, both with the notion and the result, and I am bound to add that it proved one of the most striking features of the opera when I brought it out at the Dal Verme, Milan, just a year ago."{{sfn|Klein|1924|pp=110–111}}

Towards the end of the prologue, singers often interpolate a high A♭ and a high G, although these do not appear in the original full score.{{sfn|Leoncavallo|1892|loc=p. 23, 1st bar; p. 24, 2nd bar}}  In an Australian newspaper article in December 1893, the baritone Guigliemo Caruson, who had already sung the part in Genoa earlier that year<ref name="lavoceantica">Born in Naples in 1863. For his singing career, see {{cite web |title=Caruson, Gugliemo: Cronologia |url=http://www.lavoceantica.it/Baritono/Caruson&20%Guglielmo.htm |website=La Voce Antica |access-date=20 June 2024 |language=Italian, English }}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> said that "whilst rehearsing under Signor Leoncavallo's immediate direction, the composer gave his consent to the interpolation remarking that it was very effective, but that he would not add it to the score as he did not wish to force the note upon voices it did not suit."{{refn|{{cite news |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=2 December 1893 |page=4 |title=Musical and Dramatic Notes |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13915984#pstart1371916|access-date=20 June 2024}} NB In this article, Caruson claims to have sung at the 'old' [[Metropolitan Opera House (39th Street)|Metropolitan Opera]] under the impresarios [[Abbey, Schoeffel and Grau]] before performing in [[Guatemala]]. This seems to have been in 1889, see<ref name="lavoceantica" /> However, the trio of impresarios didn't return to the 'Met' until 1891, and he probably meant the [[Auditorium Theatre, Chicago]]. }}

==Performance history==
''Pagliacci'' received mixed critical reviews after its world premiere, but was instantly successful with the public{{sfn|Dryden|2007|pp=39–40}} and has remained so ever since. 

The UK premiere of ''Pagliacci'' took place at the [[Royal Opera House]], [[Covent Garden]], under the management of Sir [[Augustus Harris]] in London on 19 May 1893, supervised by the composer. [[Nellie Melba]] sang Nedda, with [[Fernando De Lucia]] as Canio and [[Mario Ancona]] as Tonio, M. Bonnard (Beppe) and Richard Green (Silvio). The conductor was [[Luigi Mancinelli]].{{sfn|Klein|1924|pp=110–111}}

The US premiere followed a month later at the [[Grand Opera House (Manhattan)|Grand Opera House]] in New York City on 15 June 1893, conducted by [[Gustav Hinrichs]], with [[Selma Kronold]] (Nedda),  American tenor Agostino Montegriffo (Canio), and [[Giuseppe Campanari]] (Tonio).<ref>{{cite web |title=''Pagliacci'' – Synopsis |website=Music with Ease |url=https://www.musicwithease.com/pagliacci-synopsis.html |access-date=20 June 2024}}</ref>{{sfn|Dryden|2007|p=61}} 

The 'old' [[Metropolitan Opera House (39th Street)|Metropolitan Opera House]] first staged the work on 11 December as a double-bill with ''[[Orfeo ed Euridice]]'', with the same cast as the London premiere with Melba in the role of Nedda, De Lucia as Canio, and Ancona as Tonio.<ref>{{cite web |website=Metropolitan Opera Archives |title=Met Performance CID:11620 – ''Orfeo ed Euridice'', ''Pagliacci''|url=https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0358289 |access-date=20 June 2024}} with review by [[William James Henderson|W. J. Henderson]] in ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=''Pagliacci'': Opera in Two Acts |series= G. Schirmer's collection of opera librettos |author= G. Schirmer |year=1963}}</ref> The Met again staged ''Pagliacci'' as a double-bill with the same cast and conductor, this time followed by ''Cavalleria rusticana'' on 22 December 1893 with [[Emma Calvé]] as Santuzza, conducted by [[Enrico Bevignani]].{{sfn|Sims|2007}}<ref>{{cite web |website=Metropolitan Opera Archives |title=Met Performance CID:11740 – ''Pagliacci'', ''Cavalleria Rusticana''|url=https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0358300 |access-date=20 June 2024}}</ref> The two operas have since been frequently performed in this double-bill, a pairing referred to in the operatic world colloquially as "Cav and Pag". 

The Belgian premiere (in a French translation) took place on 14 February 1895 ([[Valentine's Day]]) at the [[Theatre de la Monnaie]], Brussels, with [[Cécile Simonnet]] as Nedda, conducted by [[Philippe Flon]].<ref>{{cite web |website=lamonnaie.be |title=Paillasse (traduction de E. Crosti) |language=French |url=https://carmen.lamonnaie.be/pls/carmen/carmen3.produktievoorstelling?t=3&vid=595488&id=-1&sid=-1 |access-date=20 June 2024}}</ref>

In 1902, the opera received its French premiere at the [[Paris Opera]], with legendary tenor [[Jean de Reszke]] as Canio in what would be his last public performance, as he would later retire from the stage to focus on teaching and to spend more time with his family.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jean de Reszke |url=https://www.historicaltenors.net/polish/dereszke1.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=www.historicaltenors.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Clara Leiser |url=https://archive.org/details/jeandereszkeandt000641mbp/page/n293/mode/2up?q=canio |title=Jean de Reszke and the Great Days of Opera |date=1934 |publisher=Minton, Balch & Company |others=Universal Digital Library}}</ref>

''Pagliacci'' was produced alone in [[Washington National Opera]]'s November 1997 production by [[Franco Zeffirelli]].{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|2006|p=196}} The re-organised [[New York City Opera]] presented ''Pagliacci'' in 2016 on a double bill with Rachmaninoff's ''[[Aleko (Rachmaninoff)|Aleko]]''.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/10/arts/music/review-new-york-city-opera-aleka-pagliacci.html | title=Review: Signs of Rebirth at New York City Opera |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|author=Anthony Tommasini|author-link=Anthony Tommasini| date=2016-09-09 | access-date=2017-02-19}}</ref>

==Roles==
[[File:Victor Maurel By Dupont.jpg|thumb|upright|French baritone [[Victor Maurel]], creator of the role of Tonio]]
{| class="wikitable"
|+{{sronly|Roles in the opera and in the commedia dell'arte, voice types, premiere cast}}
!Role
!Role in ''[[Commedia dell'arte]]''
![[Voice type]]
!Premiere cast, 21 May 1892<br />Conductor: [[Arturo Toscanini]]
|-
|Canio, ''head of the troupe''
|[[Clown|Pagliaccio]] ([[Pierrot]]), ''Colombina's husband''
|[[tenor]]
|[[Fiorello Giraud]]
|-
|Nedda, ''Canio's wife,<br />in love with Silvio''
|[[Colombina]], ''Pagliaccio's wife, in love with Arlecchino''
|[[soprano]]
|[[Adelina Stehle]]
|-
|Tonio, ''actor with physical deformity''
|Taddeo, ''Colombina's servant''
|[[baritone]]
|[[Victor Maurel]]
|-
|Beppe (Peppe{{efn|According to [[Konrad Dryden]], the original spelling of the character's name was "Peppe" {{harv|Dryden|2007|p=38}}.}}), ''actor''
|[[Harlequin|Arlecchino]], ''Colombina's lover''
|tenor
|[[Francesco Daddi]]
|-
|Silvio, ''Nedda's lover''
|
|baritone
|[[Mario Ancona]]
|-
| colspan="4"|Chorus of villagers
|}

==Synopsis==
:Place: [[Calabria]], near [[Montalto Uffugo|Montalto]], on the [[Feast of the Assumption]]
:Time: between 1865 and 1870

===Prologue===
During the orchestral introduction, Tonio, dressed as his [[commedia dell'arte]] character Taddeo, pokes his head through the curtain, advances, and addresses the audience.{{sfn|Leoncavallo|1892|pp=12–13}} ("Si può?... Si può?... Signore! Signori! ... Un nido di memorie"). He reminds the audience that actors have feelings too, and that the show is about real people. Tonio returns behind the curtain, which then rises for the main action.{{sfn|Leoncavallo|1892|pp=25–26}}

===Act 1===
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the commedia troupe enters the village to the cheering of the villagers. Canio describes the night's performance: the troubles of Pagliaccio. He says the play will begin at {{lang|it|ventitré ore}}, an agricultural method of time-keeping that means the play will begin an hour before sunset.{{efn|Literally "the twenty-third hour", but not 23:00 hours (11pm), as translated in some libretti. The term refers to when the hours were counted from one ''avemmaria della sera'' (evening [[angelus]]) to the next, and hence one hour before ''avemmaria'' or as in some libretti "at sundown".{{sfn|Anon.|1970}}{{sfn|Anon.|n.d.}} This ''Italian time'' was in use between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries, but persisted in some isolated rural communities as here, till the mid nineteenth century {{Harv|Swan|1892|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=asIBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA40 "Time" p.&nbsp;40]}}. In other operas it appears in ''[[Rigoletto]]'' and ''[[Un ballo in maschera]]''.}} As Nedda steps down from the cart, Tonio offers his hand, but Canio pushes him aside and helps her down himself.

The villagers suggest drinking at the tavern. Canio and Beppe accept, but Tonio stays behind. The villagers tease Canio that Tonio is planning an affair with Nedda. Canio warns everyone that while he may act the foolish husband in the play, in real life he will not tolerate other men making advances to Nedda. Shocked, a villager asks if Canio really suspects her. He says no, and sweetly kisses her on the forehead. As the church bells ring [[vespers]], he and Beppe leave for the tavern, leaving Nedda alone.

Nedda is frightened by Canio's vehemence ("Qual fiamma avea nel guardo"), but the birdsong comforts her ("Stridono lassù"). Tonio returns and confesses his love for her, but she laughs. Enraged, Tonio grabs Nedda, but she takes a whip, strikes him and drives him off. Silvio, who is Nedda's lover, comes from the tavern, where he has left Canio and Beppe drinking. He asks Nedda to elope with him after the performance and, though she is afraid, she agrees. Tonio, who has been eavesdropping, leaves to inform Canio so that he might catch Silvio and Nedda together. Canio and Tonio return and, as Silvio escapes, Nedda calls after him, "I will always be yours!"

{{Listen|image=none|help=no|type=music|filename=Vesti La Giubba.ogg|title="Vesti la giubba"|description=Performed by [[Enrico Caruso]], recorded on March 17, 1907
|filename2=No Pagliaccio non son.ogg|title2="No! Pagliaccio non son!"|description2=Performed by Enrico Caruso}}
[[File:Enrico Caruso As Canio.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Enrico Caruso]] as Canio in ''Pagliacci'', one of his signature roles]]
Canio chases Silvio, but does not catch him and does not see his face. He demands that Nedda tell him the name of her lover, but she refuses. He threatens her with a knife, but Beppe disarms him. Beppe insists that they prepare for the performance. Tonio tells Canio that her lover will give himself away at the play. A heartbroken Canio is left alone to put on his costume and prepare to laugh ("[[Vesti la giubba]]" – "Put on the costume").

===Act 2===
As the crowd arrives, Nedda, costumed as [[Colombina]], collects their money. She whispers a warning to Silvio, and the crowd cheers as the play begins.

Colombina's husband Pagliaccio has gone away until morning, and Taddeo is at the market. Alone, she anxiously awaits her lover [[Arlecchino]], who comes to serenade her ("{{Lang|it|O Colombina|italic=no}}") from beneath her window. Taddeo returns and confesses his love, but she mocks him. She lets Arlecchino in through the window. He boxes Taddeo's ears and kicks him out of the room, and the audience laughs.

Arlecchino and Colombina dine, and he gives her a sleeping [[potion]] to use later, "so that when Pagliaccio returns, she can drug him and elope with Arlecchino." Taddeo then bursts in, warning them that Pagliaccio is suspicious of his wife and is about to return. As Arlecchino escapes through the window, Colombina tells him, "I will always be yours!"

As Pagliaccio enters, he hears Colombina speak this line and, now as Canio, exclaims "{{Lang|it|Nome di Dio! Quelle stesse parole!|italic=no}}" – "Name of God! Those same words!" He tries to continue the play, but loses control and demands to know her lover's name. Nedda, hoping to keep to the performance, calls Canio by his stage name "Pagliaccio" to remind him of the audience's presence. He answers with his [[Aria|arietta]]: "{{Lang|it|No! Pagliaccio non son!|italic=no}}" – "I am not Pagliaccio!" He sings that if his face is pale, it is not from the stage makeup but from the shame she has brought him. The crowd is impressed by his emotional performance and cheers him, without realizing that it is real.

Nedda, trying to continue the play, admits that she has been visited by the innocent "Arlecchino". Canio, furious and forgetting the play, demands the name of her lover. Nedda swears she will never tell him, and it becomes apparent that they are not acting. Side-stage, Beppe asks Tonio to intervene, but Tonio refrains and prevents Beppe from halting the action. Silvio begins to fight his way toward the stage. Canio, grabbing a knife from the table, stabs Nedda. As she dies, she calls: "Help! Silvio!" Silvio attacks Canio, but Canio kills him as well. The horrified audience then hears the celebrated final line:
: "{{Lang|it|La commedia è finita!|italic=no}}!" – "The comedy is finished!"

====Assignment of the final line====
In the original manuscript, Tonio sang the opera's final line, "{{Lang|it|La Commedia è finita!|italic=no}}", paralleling the prologue, also sung by Tonio. The appropriation of this final line by Canio dates back to 1895. John Wright has analysed the [[dramaturgy]] of the opera in the context of assignment of the final line, and concluded that the original assignment of the final line to Tonio is the most consistent and appropriate assignment. Wright says that Tonio shows more deliberate control in his manipulation of the other characters in order to obtain his revenge upon Nedda, after she has rejected him, and is more aware of the demarcation between life and art. By contrast, Canio is unaware of the behind-the-scenes manipulations and surrenders control of his perception of the difference between life and art as the opera proceeds.<ref name="Wright">{{cite journal | jstor=478969 | last=Wright | first=John | title='La Commedia è finita' – An Examination of Leoncavallo's ''Pagliacci'' | journal=Italica | volume=55 | issue=2 | pages=167–178 | date=Summer 1978| doi=10.2307/478969 }}</ref>

In the present day, the assignment of the final line to Canio has continued to be standard. Several exceptions, where Tonio delivers the final line, include:
* The December 1959 production at the [[Royal Opera House]], Covent Garden, directed by [[Franco Zeffirelli]]<ref>Williams, Jeannie, [https://books.google.com/books?id=GlfVLFMwLJsC&pg=PA101 ''Jon Vickers: A Hero's Life'']. Northeastern University Press (Lebanon, New Hampshire, US), {{ISBN|978-1-55553-674-9}} (1999), pp. 100–101.</ref>
* A 1968 RAI-TV production directed by [[Herbert von Karajan]]<ref name="Wright" />
* The [[Pagliacci (1982 film)|1982 television film]] directed by [[Franco Zeffirelli]].
* The [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]] recording conducted by [[Riccardo Muti]] (EMI CMS7 63650-2)<ref>''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'' (March 1991). [https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/leoncavallo-i-pagliacci-mascagni-cavalleria-rusticana-4 "Review: Mascagni – ''Cavalleria rusticana''; Leoncavallo – ''Pagliacci''"]</ref>
* The Philips recording conducted by Muti (Philips 0289 434 1312), in conjunction with live performances in Philadelphia in February 1992<ref>''[[Philadelphia Daily News]]'' (4 February 1992). [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/184916812/ "The Story of ''I Pagliacci''"], p. 28</ref>
* The 1998 English-language recording on Chandos (CHAN 3003){{efn|[https://www.chandos.net/chanimages/Booklets/CH3003.pdf In the liner notes], the synopsis indicates Canio as stating the final line, inconsistent with the presentation of the libretto in the booklet. The English title given to the opera in this recording is 'The Touring Company'.}}
* The 2007 [[Teatro Real]] production directed by [[Giancarlo del Monaco]], in which Tonio's prologue is inserted into the double-bill before the overture to ''Cavalleria rusticana'', the finale of which segues directly into the first act of ''Pagliacci'' (Opus Arte OA0983D)<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=OA0983D | title=Review: Naxos DVD recording of live productions of February-March 2007 | work=Naxos | author=Naxos Records | date=2007 | access-date=2020-01-03}}</ref>
* The 2008 [[Seattle Opera]] production<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Seattle-Opera-s-Pagliacci-is-a-bold-and-vital-1261508.php|title=Seattle Opera's ''Pagliacci'' is a bold and vital slice of life|work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|author=RM Campbell|date=2008-01-13|access-date=2015-06-30}}</ref>
* The 2010 Opera Grand Rapids production<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/02/review_audience_savors_opera_g.html|title=Audience savors Opera Grand Rapids' ''Pagliacci''|work=Grand Rapids Press|author=Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk|date=2010-02-13|access-date=2015-06-30}}</ref>
* The 2014 [[San Diego Opera]] production<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/25/san-diego-opera-pagliacci/ | title=Despite some pluses, SD Opera ''Pagliacci'' disappoints | work=The San Diego Union-Tribune | author=James Chute | date=2014-01-25 | access-date=2015-06-30}}</ref>
*The 2015 [[Metropolitan Opera]] production<ref>{{cite news | url=https://classicalvoiceamerica.org/2015/04/15/met-opera-review-cavalleria-rusticana-pagliacci-david-mcvicar/ | title=Cav/Pag Miss/Hit in Met's Debut of McVicar Stagings | work=Classical Voice North America | author=David Shengold | date=2015-04-15 | access-date=2021-01-09}}</ref>
*The 2019 [[Maggio Musicale Fiorentino]] production.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Gangi|first1=Luigi|last2=Giacomazzi|first2=Ugo|date=February 12, 2020|title=''Leoncavallo: Pagliacci – Trailer [2019 – Maggio Musicale Fiorentino]''|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRMR6bG6OpA|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>
*The 2024 Opera Holland Park production

==Orchestration==
The orchestra consists of 2 [[Western concert flute|flute]]s, 1 [[piccolo]], 2 [[oboe]]s, 1 [[cor anglais]], 2 [[clarinet]]s, 1 [[bass clarinet]], 3 [[bassoon]]s, 4 [[French horn|horns]], 3 [[trumpet]]s, 3 [[trombone]]s, 1 [[tuba]], 2 [[harp]]s, [[timpani]], [[tubular bells]], percussion (triangle, cymbals, bass drum, glockenspiel, and tam-tam<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/muslcdb.100002.0/?sp=358&r=0.067,0.417,0.903,0.447,0|title=Image 358 of Title not available|website=[[Library of Congress]]}}</ref>) and strings. Additionally, there is an onstage violin, oboe, trumpet, and [[bass drum]].<ref>{{cite book |title= Pagliacci |series= Dover Music Scores |author= Ruggiero Leoncavallo |edition= reprint |publisher= Courier Corporation |orig-year=1892|year=1992|isbn= 9780486273631}}</ref>

==Recordings and other media==
[[File:Leoncavallo - Pagliacci (cond. Sabajno, 1907).ogg|thumb|right|1907 recording of ''Pagliacci'']]
{{Main|Pagliacci discography}}

In 1907, ''Pagliacci'' was the first opera to be recorded in its entirety, with the Puerto Rican tenor [[Antonio Paoli]] as Canio and under Leoncavallo's personal supervision. In 1931, it became the first complete opera to be filmed with sound, in a now-obscure version starring the tenor Fernando Bertini as Canio, in his only film, with the [[San Carlo Opera Company]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} Franco Zeffirelli directed his 1981 La Scala production with [[Plácido Domingo]] and [[Teresa Stratas]] for a [[Pagliacci (1982 film)|1982 television airing]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/09/arts/tv-weekend-zeffirelli-s-pagliacci-from-la-scala-in-1982.html|title=TV Weekend: Zeffirelli's ''Pagliacci'' from La Scala in 1982|work=The New York Times|author=John J O'Connor|date=1984-11-09|access-date=2015-06-13}}</ref> which has since been released on DVD. The movie's soundtrack received a [[Grammy]] nomination for Best Opera Recording. ''Pagliacci'' was also recorded in English in 1997, and released commercially in 1998, for the [[Chandos Records|Chandos]] "Opera in English" label with [[Dennis O'Neill (tenor)|Dennis O'Neill]] as Canio, [[Alan Opie]] as Tonio, and [[Rosa Mannion]] as Nedda.<ref>''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]''. [http://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/leoncavallo-pagliacci-in-english "Leoncavallo: ''Pagliacci'' (in English)"]. Retrieved 15 July 2015</ref>

In 1991, [[Kent State University]] student Michael Mould began translating ''Pagliacci'' into English for a comics adaptation, but died on [[USAir Flight 405]] before he could complete it. [[Marc Andreyko]] finished Mould's translation as ''The Clowns'', a [[One-shot (comics)|one-shot]] written by [[P. Craig Russell]] and illustrated by Galen Showman. Published in 1998 by [[Dark Horse Comics]], ''The Clowns'' is dedicated in memory of Mould.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Russell|first=P. Craig|date=April 22, 1998|title=''The Clowns''|publisher=[[Dark Horse Comics]]|url=https://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/97-610/The-Clowns-Pagliacci}}</ref>

==References in popular culture==
* In the [[Agatha Christie]] short story ''Swan Song'', a tale of revenge referencing [[Tosca]], the final line is "la commedia e finita!"
* In the 1936 film [[The Great Ziegfeld]], a section of "[[Vesti la giubba]]" is featured during the famously large-scale "[[A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody]]" sequence. A closeup of Canio marks the only cut in the entire scene.
* In ''[[Batman]]'' [[comic book]]s and media adaptations, the [[Joker (character)|Joker]], an insane [[supervillain]] who resembles a clown with homicidal tendencies, often makes references to this opera.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pagliacci in pop culture |url=https://www.lyricopera.org/lyric-lately/pagliacci-in-pop-culture/ |website=Lyric: Opera of Chicago |publisher=Opera of Chicago |access-date=25 November 2023}}</ref> For instance, the character makes a reference to the lyrics in the story, "The Case of the Joker's Crime Circus" in ''Batman'' #4.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Finger |first1=Bill |last2=Kane |first2=Bob |last3=Robinson |first3=Jerry |title=The Case of the Joker's Crime Circus |journal=Batman |volume=1 |issue=4}}</ref> In addition, the opera is featured in the ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' [[television series]] episode "[[The Joker Is Wild (Batman)|The Joker is Wild]]", where the Joker is disguised as the lead character of the opera, singing ''[[Vesti la giubba]]''.
* The song "(I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over", written by [[Allie Wrubel]] and [[Herb Magidson]] and popularized in 1939 by both the [[Larry Clinton]] and [[Jimmy Dorsey]] orchestras, references ''Pagliacci'' in the lines, "I guess I'll have to play Pagliacci and get myself a clown's disguise/And learn to laugh like Pagliacci with tears in my eyes." The song was most notably covered by [[Marvin Gaye]] in 1961 for [[Motown|Motown Records]].
* The song "[[Mr. Sandman]]", written by [[Pat Ballard]] and popularized in 1954 by [[The Chordettes]], references ''Pagliacci'' in the lines, "Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci, And lots of wavy hair like [[Liberace]]."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://genius.com/The-chordettes-mr-sandman-lyrics | title=The Chordettes – Mr. Sandman }}</ref>
* The 1970 [[Smokey Robinson]] and the Miracles hit "[[The Tears of a Clown]]" references ''Pagliacci'' in the lines "Just like Pagliacci did, I try to keep my sadness hid". An earlier song cowritten by Robinson, "My Smile Is Just a Frown Turned Upside", sung by [[Carolyn Crawford]] in 1964, had included the same line.
* In the 49th episode of the sitcom ''[[Seinfeld]]'', "[[The Opera (Seinfeld)|The Opera]]", the characters attend a production of ''Pagliacci''.
* In ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'', Episode 52 "Birds of a Feather", Story by Chuck Menville and directed by Frank Pour, Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, also known as the Penguin, goes out with Veronica Vreeland to see the opera ''Pagliacci''. In which he tries to sing with the clown, but he is way out of tune.
* In ''[[Shock Corridor]]'', one of the patients is named after the opera. This patient has a caricature of Canio above his bed.
* In ''[[Cabrini (film)|Cabrini]]'', the famous solo ''Vesti La Giubba'' is sung by [[Rolando Villazón]] playing Enrico DiSalvo.
* The protagonist of ''Pagliacci'', Canio, also appears as a legendary [[Joker (playing card)|joker card]] in the [[poker]]-themed video game ''[[Balatro]]''. The Canio joker card grows more powerful when [[face card]]s are destroyed, a nod to the murders Canio commits.
* The opera is performed in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[The Italian Bob]]" (2005) in which [[Sideshow Bob]] sings the final verse of [[Vesti la giubba]].<ref name=OC>[https://operacarolina.org/news/you-think-you-dont-know-opera-here-are-19-ways-youre-wrong-at-least-about-pagliacci/ "You think you don't know opera? Here are 19 ways you're wrong (at least about ''Pagliacci'')"] by Helen Schwab, ''[[The Charlotte Observer]]'' via [[Opera Carolina]], 31 March 2016</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Carmen]]''
*''[[Delilah (Tom Jones song)|Delilah]]''

==Notes==
{{notelist|45em}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

===Sources===
{{div col|colwidth=45em}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|author=Anon.|url=http://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/ventiquattro/|title=ventiquattro|encyclopedia=Vocabolario online|date=n.d.|language=it|via=[[Treccani]]}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|author=Anon.|url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ventitre_%28Enciclopedia-Dantesca%29/|title=ventitrè|encyclopedia=[[Enciclopedia Dantesca]]|year=1970|language=it|via=[[Treccani]]}}
* {{cite book|last=Dryden|first=Konrad|author-link=Konrad Dryden|title=Leoncavallo: Life and Works|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Plymouth, UK|isbn=978-0-8108-5880-0|year=2007|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/leoncavallo00domi}}
* {{cite magazine|last=Klein |first=Herman |author-link=Herman Klein|magazine=[[The Gramophone]]|title=The Gramophone and the Collector: The Prologue to ''Pagliacci''|date=September 1924 |volume=II |issue=4 |page=110 |url=https://archive.org/details/gramophone-1924-09/page/n10/mode/1up?view=theater}}
* {{cite book |ref={{harvid|Leoncavallo|1892}} |last=Leoncavallo |first=Ruggero |author-link=Ruggero Leoncavallo |title=Pagliacci |lang=it |place=Milan |publisher={{ill|Casa Musicale Sonzogno|it|Sonzogno (editore musicale)}} |date=n.d. |orig-date=1892 |series=(Reprint ed., Kalmus, n.d.) |url=https://imslp.org/wiki/Pagliacci_(Leoncavallo,_Ruggiero)|via=[[IMSLP]]}}
* {{cite book|last=Phillips-Matz|first=Mary Jane|author-link=Mary Jane Phillips-Matz|title=Washington National Opera 1956–2006|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Washington National Opera|year=2006|isbn=0-9777037-0-3}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Sims|2007}}|reference=Sims, Michael. [http://concertoperaboston.org/cavalleria.html "''Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''I Pagliacci'' (sic) – Crimes of Passion"], Concert Opera Boston, programme notes (accessed 8 February 2020)}}
* {{cite book|last1=Swan|first1=Howard|title=Travellers' Colloquial Italian: A Handbook for English-speaking Travellers and Students. Idiomatic Italian Phrases with an Exact Pronunciation Represented on a New System Based Upon a Scientific Analysis of Italian Sounds, with Other General Information Useful to Travellers in Italy|date=1892|publisher=David Nutt|location=London|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=asIBAAAAYAAJ|access-date=26 April 2015}}
{{div col end}}

==Further reading==
*Haggin, Bernard H., ''Conversations with Toscanini'', New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1959 {{ISBN|9780818012198}}
*{{cite book|last1=Weaver|first1=William|title=Opera's irrestistible twins|date=1987|publisher=[[Decca Record Company]]|ref=none}}{{full citation needed|date=September 2020|reason=ISBN or OCLC?}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Pagliacci}}
{{Wiktionary|pagliacci}}
*{{IMSLP|work=Pagliacci (Leoncavallo, Ruggiero)|cname=''Pagliacci''}}
*[http://www.murashev.com/opera/Pagliacci_libretto_Italian Libretto in Italian]
*[http://www.murashev.com/opera/Pagliacci_libretto_English Libretto in English]
*[http://www.durbeckarchive.com/sancarlo.htm The Durbeck Archive, page on 1931 film of ''Pagliacci'']
*[http://www.operadis-opera-discography.org.uk/CLLEPAGL.HTM List of ''Pagliacci'' recordings on operadis-opera-discography.org, as of 2009]

{{Pagliacci|state=expanded}}
{{Ruggero Leoncavallo|state=expanded}}
{{Arturo Toscanini}}
{{Portal bar|Opera|Italy}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1892 operas]]
[[Category:Calabria in fiction]]
[[Category:Commedia dell'arte]]
[[Category:Fiction about uxoricide]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1870]]
[[Category:Fiction set in the 1860s]]
[[Category:Italian-language operas]]
[[Category:Operas adapted into films]]
[[Category:Operas by Ruggero Leoncavallo]]
[[Category:Operas set in Italy]]
[[Category:Operas set in the 19th century]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:Pierrot]]
[[Category:Verismo operas]]
[[Category:Works about clowns]]