This Pagliacci was the first half of an evening that concluded with Cavalleria Rusticana (also available from Opera Depot #11833), both starring Maralin Niska, a wonderful singing actress who could sing just about anything well. She is one of the few sopranos who sang both Nedda and Santuzza on the same evening.Her Nedda loves Life and is unapologetic about wanting as much as she can get from it. She is witheringly scornful of Tonio's clumsy advances and fully committed to her lover Silvio. She also sports two excellent trills before the Ballatella and several exciting high Bs.Elvira is a terrific Tonio, singing the blazes out of the opening Prologue and providing some real competition to his colleagues elsewhere. Mauro also sings with fervor, knocking out some great, squillo-filled high notes. He became the Met's go-to tenor for the Italian repertoire a few years later. Cossa is a passionate Silvio and Lowery an excellent Beppe, especially in his last act serenade. As with Cavalleria Rusticana, Martelli knew how this opera was supposed to go and conducts an exciting performance, one that would be difficult to match today when much of the verismo repertoire is so tamely performed.If you get this Pagliacci, treat yourself to the Cavalleria mentioned above as well. You'll audibly hear Niska change characters.

I was drawn to this performance out of nostalgia because I attended one from this run. In the latter half of the 20th century, the New York City Opera was figuratively and literally in the shadow of it's next door neighbor the MET. NYCO could not afford to attract most international stars, so its casts were less familiar to opera fans then and now (although there were some "superstars" who were nurtured there before moving across the plaza such as Sills and Ramey among others). The cast for this performance includes 3 singers who were the NYCO versions of Domingo, MIlnes, and Scotto. LIke those three, Mauro, Elvira, and NIska appeared often together, but of course, did not become household names (although in my opinion Niska was right up there with, say, Scotto and Freni). As to this performance, the voices are a bit recessed but still come through sufficiently for enjoyment and clarity. Mauro sings well but does not displace a Corelli or Del Monaco in this repertoire, and Elvira is solid but not exceptional. Niska is the most impressive. That being said, this is a good performance but not one that will go down in the books as a "must have", however one defines that (hence the 4 rather than 5 stars). I recommend the recording to fans of these performers and to anyone wishing to sample the quality of work at the NYCO during this period. Sorry to use the old cliche, but these singers would be appreciated more today than they likely were during their careers.