Video: A Classic!

Opera Tampa presents
Cavalleria Rusticana & I Pagliacci
Jan. 27 and 29, 2012
Carol Morsani Hall at the Straz Center
Regularly priced tickets start at $29.50

Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggiero Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci will be presented in the Straz Center's Carol Morsani Hall, Jan. 27 and 29, 2012, as part of the 2011-2012 Opera Tampa season presented by Homes by Helen.

An infatuated and likely pregnant Santuzza is dumped by Turiddu, who has rekindled his lustful affair with the now-married Lola. But Santuzza won't go quietly and tells Lola's husband everything. It's a duel to the death in Cavalleria Rusticana as a cuckolded husband takes his revenge!

Then in the famous play-within-a-play, I Pagliacci, the clown who makes others laugh is crying inside because onstage and off, his actress-wife is having a torrid affair with a younger man! The opera contains the celebrated aria "Vesti la giubba."

Cavalleria Rusticana & I Pagliacci will showcase a stunning international cast, as well as the Opera Tampa Orchestra and Chorus. Maestro Anton Coppola conducts a company that features Michael Corvino (Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana and Tonio in I Pagliacci), Keith Harris (Silvio in I Pagliacci),
Cristina Nassif (Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana and Nedda in I Pagliacci), Susan Nicely (Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana), Ian O'Brien (Beppe in I Pagliacci), Dawn Pierce (Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana) and Scott Piper (Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana and Canio in I Pagliacci). Michael Shell will direct the production. Cavalleria Rusticana & I Pagliacci will be sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage.

Performances are Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, at 2 p.m. Regularly priced tickets start at $29.50 and may be purchased by calling 813.229.STAR (7827) or 800.955.1045 outside Tampa Bay, in person at the Straz Center Ticket Office or online at www.strazcenter.org. For more information about the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts and its upcoming events, please visit the Straz Center's website at www.strazcenter.org.

For more information about Opera Tampa and its upcoming events, please visit www.operatampa.org.