Pagliacci Synopsis

PAGLIACCI SYNOPSIS

CHARACTERS

Canio/Pagliaccio, tenor The head of the traveling theater troupe and Nedda’s husband

Nedda/Colombina, soprano Canio’s wife

Beppe/Arlecchino, tenor Fellow actor

Tonio/Taddeo, baritone The Clown

Silvio, baritone Local townsman

PROLOGUE Costume design sketches by Charles Neumann for BLO, from top to bottom: Pagliaccio, Arlecchino, Columbina.

PROLOGUE

Speaking directly to the audience, Tonio the clown, promises the audience a story about real life and real people. He reminds the audience that actors are people too–they also experience both joy and pain.

ACT I

Gathering for the festival, the townspeople eagerly await the arrival of a travelling theater troupe. Canio, the leader of the troupe, announces to the crowd that there will be a performance that evening. Canio and fellow actor Beppe, join the villagers at a local tavern, where someone mentions that Tonio is secretly pursuing Canio’s wife, Nedda. Canio makes it known that while he may play the foolish husband on stage, theater and life are not the same. He will not hesitate to put an end, by any means necessary, any advances made toward his young wife. Canio’s jealous outburst scares Nedda. She daydreams of escaping her marriage and the theater troupe. Nedda notices that Tonio has been watching her. Tonio confesses his love and embraces her. She mocks him and pushes him off.

However, Nedda is already having an affair with a local villager Silvio; they meet in secret. The couple declare their love and plot to run away together that very night. Unfortunately, Tonio has been eavesdropping on their secret rendezvous, and rushes to alert Canio. Silvio manages to escape before Canio can entrap him. Nedda refuses to reveal the identity of her secret lover to her vengeful husband. As Beppe restrains Canio, Tonio urges him to wait for the evening performance, where Nedda’s lover is sure to be in attendance. Canio then prepares for the performance, nursing a broken heart.

The story of Pagliacci is a play within a play, which means the characters are actors who then assume characters who perform a play as part of the plot. Shakespeare wrote a few of his plays using this concept, namely Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Can you think of another example of a play within a play?

ACT II

The audience waits for the performance to begin; Silvio is in the crowd. Colombina (played by Nedda) is serenaded by her lover Arlecchino (played by Beppe) while her husband Pagliaccio (played by Canio) is out of town. The couple is interrupted by Taddeo (played by Tonio) who confesses his love for Colombina. The couple laugh and shoo him away. The lovers decide to run away together and devise a plan to poison Pagliaccio. Taddeo returns in time to warn the couple, propelling Arlecchino out the window just as Pagliaccio comes home. Taddeo attempts to calm the suspicious Pagliaccio by proclaiming that Colombina is faithful.

Canio, however, abandons his character and the script, once again demanding the name of his wife’s real lover. The audience is captivated by the drama, not realizing the play is veering off course, until Canio exclaims he is no longer Pagliaccio. Nedda finally breaks character, openly defying her husband’s jealous interrogation. In a furious rage, Canio stabs Nedda, as well as Silvio who tries in vain to save her. The audience is in shock as Tonio turns to them and somberly declares: “The comedy is over.”