Photos: CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA and PAGLIACCI at Opera San José

Two powerful women will be at the helm when Opera San José returns in the new year with the operatic double bill of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, bringing raw passion and intense drama to the California Theatre. See photos here!

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 onstage, 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 at the California Theatre, 345 South First Street, San José.