Opera's favourite double-bill: Cavalleria Rusticana, by Mascagni, and I Pagliacci, by Leoncavallo. Both operas are set in Italy and deal with tragic episodes in the lives of local people, following the verismo fashion for putting real life on stage.
Cavalleria Rusticana is set in a Sicilian village one Easter morning. Turiddu has been enjoying a dalliance with Lola, which enrages his former lover, Santuzza. She tells
Lola's husband, who challenges Turiddu to a duel.