Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana / Leoncavallo: Pagliacci (DVD)

Award-winning director Damiano Michieletto has put together these two short operas, both set in a poverty-stricken southern Italian village in the early 1980s that is firmly in the grip of the mafia. + The Royal Opera's music director Antonio Pappano conducts this star-studded cast, which includes the charming Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek, the spirited Italian soprano Carmen Giannattasio and the captivating Latvian tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko. + These two works are prime examples of verismo opera - an operatic genre that focuses on the everyday struggles of the common man rather than mythical or historical legends. + Additional features included in this set are an introduction to Cavalleria Rusticana, an introduction to Pagliacc, an interview with Antonio Pappano about the music and a cast gallery.