Both works focus in on the frustration of the repitition of day by day living. Neither of the heroines [or anti heroines if you will], will at the final moment relinquish their present security. The men react and act, because of insults to their 'masculinity'. The world is worse off because of these psychological problems, but much better off because of the music which tells these two truly remarkable stories.

Puccini was the master of emotion. In Tabarro he comes closer to real behaviour than in any of his other works. But he still cannot resist the swelling themes that made him famous. He even goes so far as adding Hollywood Angels to stretch us even further.

For the artists the acting of the roles depends on their perceptions of the characters and the natural behaviour of those characters that brings the story before the audience. The restricted deck of the barge keeps the story tight and illustrates the fact that proximity, repetitous living and lack of space has a depressing effect on the protagonists.

In Pagliacci we have a restrictive set of circumstances with a multi layered libretto and underscoring in the orchestra that weaves an exceptional tapestry of human foibles and emotions. The Pagliaccos travel together; a bad, a very bad seedy touring company, moving from village to village in Calabria, taking the money, moving on. They too are trapped with each other. They are interdependent and cannot get away from each other.

Nedda's dalliance with Silvio provides the catalyst for Canio's outburst of frustration and rage. Tonio, crippled in body and mind cannot understand why the world rejects him. He is looking out and cannot see his own ugliness. Beppe should get out but is not capable of breaking away.

But the curtain must go up. All personal emotions have to be suppressed because they must perform. At the end of his great aria in Act 1 Canio is saved from himself only because he must give a performance. Truth is too heavy a burden to carry and the ageing Lothario breaks down with tragic results. Here the chorus are not just witnesses but the only ones not 'in' on the circumstances. The principal characters know, the audience knows, but the chorus are seeing it all for the first time.

Depressing as all this may sound it all has a basis in human reality. The interlinking of the two operas gives us the opportunity to use 'the theatre' to put real people before you. So now 'Ring up the curtain!'

Director's Notes
Blair Edgar O.A.M.