Learn more about the Italian opera!

Each 2 hour session is centred around a different lyrical masterpiece. Our Italian teacher Anna will talk about the historical context, the author and the plot of the opera. Of course you’ll also listen to and study some of the most famous arias.

The course is in Italian! A B1 level (or higher) is required to follow this class.

22 June – I Pagliacci

‘I Pagliacci’ (The clowns) is an opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It is the composer’s only opera that is still widely performed. Opera companies frequently stage ‘I Pagliacci’ with ‘Cavalleria rusticana’ by Pietro Mascagni, a double bill known colloquially as ‘Cav and Pag’.‘I Pagliacci’ premiered at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan on 21 May 1892, conducted by Arturo Toscanini.