SATURDAY
NOVEMBER 8
7:30 PM
SUNDAY
NOVEMBER 9
3:00 PM
TUESDAY
NOVEMBER 11
7:30 PM
PAGLIACCI
Welcome to Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci: A Carnival of Tragedy
An immersive opera experience at the Millennium Center
For the first time in its history, the Millennium Event Center opens its doors to an opera that takes over the entire space. Gone is the traditional divide between stage and seat. Instead, you step into the world where the building becomes part of the unfolding story.
Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci begins—but you’re inside the world and under the tent.
The audience moves within the opera. You're not watching Canio—you can see the sweat on his brow as he spirals into madness. You’re just feet from Nedda and Silvio as they plot their escape in hushed tones. When the performance within the opera begins, you are part of the jeering, laughing crowd—until the laughter stops.
This production of Pagliacci marks a bold new chapter in Piedmont Opera’s 49 year history—blending classical opera with site-specific performance to create an event that’s immersive, intimate, and unforgettable. It’s not just a night at the opera. It’s a living opera in a living space.
COMPOSED BY
Ruggero Leoncavallo
LIBRETTO BY
Ruggero Leoncavallo
PREMIERED
May 21, 1892
Teatro Dal Verme, Milan
Sung in Italian with English supertitles
Synopsis
Tonio the clown steps before the curtain to remind the audience: what you’re about to see is not just theater—it’s real. Actors laugh, cry, and love just like anyone else. Tonight’s story is drawn from life… and it ends in blood.
Act I
A traveling theater troupe arrives in a village. Canio, the troupe's leader, promotes their evening show and warns the crowd: onstage is comedy—but offstage, betrayal will not be tolerated. His young wife, Nedda, secretly loves a local man, Silvio. When Tonio, spurned by Nedda, discovers the affair, he alerts Canio. Silvio escapes, but Canio demands the truth. Nedda refuses. Consumed by jealousy, Canio must go on with the show—playing the clown while his heart shatters.
During our extended intermission, step into the carnival atmosphere with circus-themed cocktails and festive snacks designed to delight your senses.
Act II
That night, the troupe performs. Onstage, Canio (as Pagliaccio) plays the fool, while Nedda (as Columbine) plots with Harlequin to escape her husband. But Canio loses himself in the role—his real fury takes over. In front of the stunned audience, he stabs Nedda, then Silvio. As silence falls, Tonio steps forward with the chilling final line:
“La commedia è finita.”
The comedy is over.
