I wanted to write a piece about the storyline of Pagliacci - and the problem is that I get confused by all the Italian names. So I figured I'd translate them to American names, and translate the story into American terms. So let's start with the characters:

Canio

This is probably the hardest, since there is no American equivalent that I could find! Canio is both a first and a last name, and St. Canio is the patron saint of Acerenza and Calitri, both in Italy. Paolo Di Canio is a controversial football (that is, soccer) player who used to play for Sheffield Wednesday and West Ham United (both in England), but now plays for A.S. Cisco Roma—so, no help there. I'll just call him Carl.

Tonio

This one's easy. Tonio is the diminutive form of Antonio, which is Anthony. If we're keeping with the diminutive forms, then we wind up with Tony.

Beppe

Another easy one. Beppe is the diminutive form of Guiseppe, which is Joseph. So keeping in style, I'll call him Joe.

Nedda

A small challenge here, but nothing insurmountable. Nedda is a nickname for Antonietta, which would turn into Toni.

Silvio

Another small challenge, until we realize that Silvio is derived from Silvius, meaning "wood" or "forest". So I will call him Woody.

Now on to the story. There are many plot synopses available on the web, but let me simplify it:

Carl is married to Toni, but Toni is having an affair with Woody. Tony has the hots for Toni, but Toni does not reciprocate. Carl is jealous of Toni's indescretions, and the scorned Tony adds fuel to the fire. Joe (remember Joe?) tries to keep things sane, but ultimately Carl stabs Toni and then Woody.

So far so good. Then there is the play within the play, with Carl playing Pagliacci (Clown), Toni playing Columbina (Dove), Tony as Taddeo (Thaddeus), and Joe as Arlecchino (Harlequin), but I already got myself confused again... too many names! But there are really only five major parts, and it all makes sense, really! And although I make light of it here, it is pretty darn dramatic. This is especially true because Commedia dell'Arte typically ends happily with the inamorati marriage and forgiveness all around for any wrongdoings. Not so in Pagliacci!

But how does one keep everything in this twisted plotline straight? When you see it happening, the story resonates, but when you try to tell it in simple words, the going gets rough. Without the signposts of faces, emotion, and costume, it is easy to get lost in the mere roadmap of the story. So there are books. More books than you could believe!

Just counting music, there are at least five versions of the score in active use at staging and chorus rehearsals. There are the Schirmer and Sonzognio piano scores, the Dover and Kalmus versions of the orchestral score, and the Peters vocal score. Because Leoncavallo only wrote one opera of note, there has not been quite so much scholarly work invested in the piece (in spite of the fact that it was the first opera recorded in its entirety, and Enrico Caruso's version of Vesti la giubba was the first record to sell a million copies). So variances exist, and Maestro Buckley often must choose between which version will be authoritative for what portion of the opera—and since words may change slightly, the stage managers must take notes to ensure that the supertitles reflect what is actually being sung!

The four stage managers each have their own annotated copy of the rehearsal score (a looseleaf copy of the piano score). And although I missed the first orchestra read-through, I know that each player has his or her own instrument's part. That's 2 flutes, 1 piccolo, 2 oboes, 1 cor anglais, 2 clarinets, 1 basset-horn, 3 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba, 2 harps, timpani, tubular bells, percussion, and strings (at least according to Wikipedia—I'll count the actual numbers at the next orchestra rehearsal). Wikipedia also says that additionally, there is an onstage violin, oboe, trumpet, and the smiley-faced bass drum that Pagliacci (played by Carl—err... Canio) loudly beats.

Each chorister has sheet music. There is a "Supernumerary Handbook" that details what every supernumerary ought to know. There are study guides for schools, property lists and inventories, set designs and scores of drawings, tape lines, spike lists, punch lists, entrance and exit cues—and I haven't even seen the lighting designers and the lighting cues yet! Every day the cast and crew are emailed a detailed rehearsal schedule (which is adjusted based on the overall schedule and what was completed the day before). If you thought that the story and a few Italian names were complicated, you should see all that goes on behind the scenes!

But wait... that's my job! You get to sit back and enjoy the show (and hopefully read my blog). There may be a lot of books to read, but since everyone will be reading off the same page, it'll be great!