Cavalleria rusticana, A documentary

At the Teatro Real in Madrid, Giancarlo del Monaco created a breath-taking rendition of the famous operas by Pietro Mascagni and Ruggero Leoncavallo: Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. This production is transcended by a perfect cast including Violeta Urmana as Santuzza in the Cavalleria and Maria Bayo as Nedda in Pagliacci.

Both operas are "sentenced to live together" according to Giancarlo del Monaco. They tell stories of jealousy and honor which remind us of Pirandello's pieces. Del Monaco's production is a reference and still tours the most prestigious European opera houses: Bonn, Oslo, Torino, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Montpellier, Munich and Paris in 2012.

This documentary presents excerpts from the Teatro Real performances in Madrid. The exclusive interviews of the central characters, of the stage director and of the music director gives us the keys to this "fundamental diptych of the Verismo opera."

• Watch Giancarlo del Monaco's Cavalleria Rusticana – I Pagliacci at the Teatro Real Madrid on medici.tv.

Picture: © Javier del Real