In the theater of a small village, rehersals are taking place for a show based on the opera I Pagliacci. There is no orchestra, just a piano and the singers. Amongs the few people in the audience there is the mother of the singer, a rich local lady and financer of the project, the sister, and a few other people involved in the show. During a dinner party at this rich lady’s house, a hiposis session takes place, where rancor and pain emerge from the brother and sister towards their mother and their impossibility of overcoming them.

Roberto Alagna stars in this Arena di Verona production of the Leoncavallo opera.

Canio and his Comedia dell'Arte troupe tour Italy. His wife Nedda meets a young cadet and they plan to elope. He tries to leave her when he finds how important she is for his husband, but a rejected trouper interferes. As jealous Canio suspects the truth the tragedy approaches. The film was partly made in Ufacolor.

The story is set in southern Italy and recounts the tragedy of Canio, the lead clown (or pagliaccio in Italian) in a commedia dell'arte troupe, his wife Nedda, and her lover, Silvio. When Nedda spurns the advances of Tonio, another player in the troupe, he tells Canio about Nedda's betrayal. In a jealous rage Canio murders both Nedda and Silvio. Although Leoncavallo's opera was originally set in the late 1860's, Zeffirelli's production is updated to the period between World War I and World War II.

Pagliacci, is a 1948 Italian film based on Ruggero Leoncavallo's opera Pagliacci, directed by Mario Costa. The film stars Tito Gobbi and Gina Lollobrigida. It recounts the tragedy of Canio, the lead clown (or pagliaccio in Italian) in a commedia dell'arte troupe, his wife Nedda, and her lover, Silvio. When Nedda spurns the advances of Tonio, another player in the troupe, he tells Canio about Nedda's betrayal. In a jealous rage Canio murders both Nedda and Silvio. The only actor in the cast who also sang his role was the celebrated Italian baritone, Tito Gobbi, but the film is largely very faithful to its source material, presenting the opera nearly complete.

Plácido Domingo accomplishes the rare feat of singing both leads on the same night at the Met in 1978 on opera's most popular double-bill.

Puccini's Il Tabarro & Leoncavallo's Pagliacci; Pavarotti and Domingo star in MET 1994-1995 season opener.

Opera's most popular double bill, fondly known as Cav and Pag, conducted by Herbert von Karajan. In 'Cavalleria rusticana', Turiddu returns from military service to find that his fiancée Lola had married the carter Alfio while he was away. In revenge, Turiddu seduces Santuzza, a young woman in the village. In 'Pagliacci', the drama unfolds as Canio (Pagliaccio) struggles with rage, despair, and desire on learning of his wife Nedda's intended infidelity with Silvio. Canio's tragic conflict increasingly mirrors the comedy of Pagliaccio.

As comparably short operas, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci are often billed together, but seldom is the lead tenor making his double role debut as Turiddu and Canio on the same evening. At the 2015 Salzburg Easter Festival, Jonas Kaufmann did just that to rapturous praise. Universally hailed as a coup for Kaufmann, the plaudits were also showered on Philipp Stölzl for his innovative staging which includes live video projections while referencing the era of black-and-white movies.

Giancarlo del Monaco's acclaimed new production elegantly intertwines Mascagni's and Leoncavallo's well-loved operas, masterpieces which brought new levels of realism into opera through their so-called verismo style.

Damiano Michieletto's production for The Royal Opera updates the works to southern Italy in the late 20th century.

Plácido Domingo takes on the leading tenor roles in this 1976 live performance at the NHK Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

A sad clown encountering little boy with a balloon

Released from prison after 20 years, Canio finds his daughter adopted by a wealthy family and about to marry. When he meets Leoncavallo, the composer is moved to create one of history's greatest operas.

Sadness is just a smile away.