Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci

The event is performed in Italian with Russian and Hebrew subtitles.

We are proud to present a collaboration between Vienna–Tel Aviv Vocal Connection and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra: a spectacular production! More than 150 participants will take part in the operas Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci, featuring soloists from Vienna and Tel Aviv, as well as international opera stars and four choirs.

Conducting will be handled by David Aronson of the Vienna State Opera. The production is directed by Rosemary Danziger. Choir master: Asaf Benraf.

Vienna–Tel Aviv Vocal Connection is a unique opera company in Israel that organizes full-scale opera productions of international scope throughout the country. Each of the company’s performances becomes a major event in the country’s cultural life, attracting considerable attention among Israeli opera aficionados. The success of the company’s previous productions, including The Marriage of Figaro and Die Fledermaus, confirms their significance.

In this new project, audiences will see two masterpieces of verismo: Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni and Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo. These operas are often performed on the same evening, as they share a similar style and each lasts approximately one hour. Each opera is divided into two parts with an instrumental intermezzo.

The verismo genre to which they belong seeks to portray life without illusions, reflecting the deepest human emotions and passions through music and drama. In these operas, music does not merely accompany the action—it tells the story and participates in the plot, heightening the emotional tension and giving it aesthetic expressiveness. The realism of the stage action is intensified by the orchestra’s rich sound and the active participation of the choirs, who appear as spectators and witnesses to what unfolds between the principal characters.

David Aronson, maestro of the Vienna State Opera, and Rosemary Danziger, an internationally acclaimed opera director, lead the soloists, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and four choirs into the heart of the unfolding drama.

Performing verismo roles requires artists to possess not only powerful dramatic voices but also intense emotional expressiveness. In the Vienna–Tel Aviv Vocal Connection production, the leading roles are performed by stars of the international opera stage who have previously sung these demanding parts at major opera houses around the world.

Love, betrayal, jealousy, and revenge—all these passions unfold on stage so convincingly and vividly that it is impossible for the audience to remain indifferent.

Cast

• Nedda/Santuzza: Evgenia Dushina (soprano) — Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, France; Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain; La Monnaie Royal Theatre in Brussels, Belgium.
• Canio/Turiddu: Zurab Zurabishvili (tenor) — Deutsche Oper Berlin, Germany; Zurich Opera House, Switzerland; Israeli Opera.
• Tonio/Alfio: Pablo Carrillo Ferrera (baritone) — Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas, Venezuela; Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, Italy.
• Silvio: Oleg Lebedev (baritone) — Semperoper in Dresden, Germany; Glyndebourne Festival Opera in the United Kingdom.
• Arlecchino: Doron Florentin (tenor) — Israeli Opera.
• Lola: Abigail Gurtler-Har-Tov (soprano) — Israeli Opera.
• Mamma Lucia: Rona Sharira (alto) — Israeli Opera.

The Shahar Choir from Rehovot, conducted by Gila Brill, and the Ankor Children’s Choir in Jerusalem, conducted by Dafna Ben-Yohanan, will also participate.