Opera Festival of Chicago to Present PAGLIACCI Pre-Show Talks with WFMT's Oliver Camacho

The Opera Festival of Chicago will present two pre-show talks featuring WFMT Music Director and host of “Listening to Singers” Oliver Camacho. The two, free special events are being held, Friday, June 27 at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 29 at 1 p.m., at the George Van Dusen Theatre, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie, immediately before that day's Pagliacci performance. Camacho will discuss the evolution of Italian opera — from a showcase of technical feats of the human voice to a provocative spectacle that turned a mirror on the audience; and how Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci put a shocking story ripped from the headlines on the stage. 

The 2025 Opera Festival of Chicago season concludes with Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo, directed by Sasha Gerritson, conducted by Uff. Emanuele Andrizzi with a cast of more than 50 performers and a 40-piece orchestra. Performances are Friday, June 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 29 at 2 p.m. at the George Van Dusen Theatre, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie. Single tickets are $25 - $50 with subscriptions available at OperaFestivalChicago.org. 

The 2025 season concludes with one of the pillars of Italian opera and one of the most passionate dramas of all times, Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo. Sung in Italian, Pagliacci follows the story of a troupe of actors led by Canio and his unfaithful wife Nedda and features the famous aria “Vesti la giubba.” Love triangles, heartbreaks, betrayal and violent verismo vendettas erupt on stage, where art imitates life in this tragic masterpiece
 
In addition to Pagliacci, the Opera Festival of Chicago continues with the Festival’s leading artists, in concert, for Love is a Triangle,  June 14 at 7:30 at the Jarvis Opera Hall on DePaul University’s campus. This program includes works by Verdi, Puccini, Leoncavallo, Mascagni and others with themes of love, betrayal, and jealousy – the beating pulse of Italian opera. Sung by our Opera Festival of Chicago festival company members including Angela DeVenuto, Jerek Fernandez, David Greene, Maria Kanyova, Joseph Lodato, Leo Radosavljevich, Franco Pomponi and others.