CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA & PAGLIACCI Double Bill to be Presented at Opera San José
Celebrated composer/conductor Alma Deutscher, who conducted The Magic Flute and her own opera Cinderella at OSJ, returns to the podium.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jan. 06, 2026
Two powerful women will be at the helm when Opera San José returns in the new year with the masterful operatic double bill of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, bringing raw passion and intense drama to the California Theatre.
Set in a Sicilian village before World War I, Cavalleria Rusticana tells a story of love and jealousy that culminates in a dramatic duel of honor. Mascagni’s sweeping melodies, including the beloved “Intermezzo,” make this a thrilling work of passion and disloyalty. Pagliacci, to be set in the same village after WWI, follows a traveling commedia dell’arte troupe whose personal betrayals explode on stage, highlighted by the electrifying aria “Vesti la giubba.”
Celebrated composer/conductor Alma Deutscher, who conducted The Magic Flute and her own opera Cinderella at OSJ, returns to the podium, with OSJ General Director & CEO Shawna Lucey directing. Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci will be performed in Italian with English and Spanish supertitles, February 15 – March 1, 2026 (performance dates/times below) at the California Theatre, 345 South First Street, San José.
Cavalleria Rusticana will feature former Opera San José Artist-in-Residence soprano Maria Natale, who thrilled audiences last season in Bluebeard’s Castle, as the tragically misused peasant girl Santuzza, alongside tenor Christopher Oglesby as her faithless lover Turiddu, following his acclaimed portrayal of Pinkerton in this season’s Madama Butterfly. Mezzo-soprano Jill Grove will make her OSJ debut as Turiddu’s loving, devout mother, Lucia.Baritone Kidon Choi returns to sing the enraged cuckolded husband Alfio, having previously earned acclaim for his role debut as Scarpia in OSJ’s Tosca and a memorable portrayal of Marcello in La Bohème. The role of Alfio’stemptress wife, Lola, will be shared by OSJ Artist-in-Residence mezzo-soprano Courtney Miller and mezzo-soprano Alex Delgado.
Pagliacci will star tenor Ben Gulley in his OSJ debut as Canio, the tragic leader of a traveling commedia dell’arte troupe. Soprano Mikayla Sager, previously seen as Mimì in OSJ’s La Bohème, returns as Canio’s unfaithful wifeNedda, while baritone Kidon Choi portrays the manipulative and vengeful Tonio, who provokes Canio’s murderous rage. OSJ Artist-in-Residence tenor Micah Perry makes his house debut as Beppe, the troupe’s cheerful peacemaker, and baritone Luis Alejandro Orozco, head of the opera program at San José State University, also makes his OSJ debut as Silvio, Nedda’s secret lover who hopes to rescue her from her abusive marriage.
The chorus ensemble is comprised of Chris Abadia, Caleb Alexander, Rachel Beninghof, Lauren Biglow, Aro Cherry, Carter Dougherty, Valeria Estrada, Nicolas Vasquez-Gerst, Danielle Imai, Brennah Kemmerly, Michael Kim, Michael Jesse Kuo, Anicia Madali, Eric Mellum, Rachel Nelson, Don Nguyen, Fallon Nunes, Yoseph Park, Brendan Stone, Thien-An Truong, and Luis Tuyub.
The creative team for Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci includes Shawna Lucey (Director), Alma Deutscher (Conductor), Noah Lindquist (Assistant Conductor), Mark Anthony Vallejo (Assistant Director), Steven Kemp (Set Designer), Michael Clark (Lighting Designer), Howard Tsvi Kaplan (Cavalleria Rusticana Costume Designs), Cathleen Edwards (original Pagliacci Costume Designs), ChrisTina Martin (Hair and Makeup), and Dave Maier(Fight Director).
Cavalleria Rusticana, composed by Pietro Mascagni with libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, premiered in 1890 as a landmark work in the verismo (or “true-to-life”) movement in Italian opera. Based on Giovanni Verga’s short story and play, the opera captures the raw emotional intensity of everyday Sicilian life, centering on themes of love, betrayal, honor, and revenge. Its success was immediate and immense. Mascagni won a competition with the opera, launching his career and securing the work’s place as a cornerstone of the operatic repertoire. Known for its lush melodies and dramatic realism, the one-act Cavalleria Rusticana is frequently paired with Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, forming one of opera’s most enduring double bills.
The short two-act opera Pagliacci with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo premiered in 1892, another of the defining works of the verismo movement in Italian opera. Inspired by a real-life murder trial Leoncavallo claimed to have witnessed as a child, the opera blurs the boundaries between performance and reality, centering on a traveling commedia dell’arte troupe whose onstage comedy becomes the chilling setting for intense offstage jealousy and betrayal. Its emotionally charged score, including the famous aria “Vesti la giubba,” and its taut, tragic storyline has made Pagliacci a staple of the operatic repertoire for more than a century.
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