The Tears of a Clown and the Realism of Florida Grand Opera’s I Pagliacci

Florida Grand Opera's upcoming production of Ruggero Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci comes nearly 82 years after the Miami Opera Guild first performed the Italian opera.

By Artburst Miami

Tenor Limmie Pulliam makes his Florida Grand Opera debut as Canio in I Pagliacci on Saturday, January 27, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. Photo: Peter Serko

When Florida Grand Opera opens the curtain on its midseason production, I Pagliacci, it will be close to 82 years to the day that the Miami Opera Guild, the precursor to Florida Grand Opera, performed its inaugural production of Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Italian opera.

While the anniversary may evoke some nostalgia, today’s audiences will see a different I Pagliacci than the one from eight decades ago.

Performed at the concert hall of Miami High School on Flagler Avenue for only one performance on February 14, 1942, the production starred founder of the Opera Guild, tenor and voice teacher Arturo di Filippi, as Canio, the leader of a commedia dell’arte theatrical company who is driven to murder his actress wife and her lover.

In FGO’s production, which will be performed on Saturday, January 27, Sunday, January 28, and Tuesday, January 30, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, and Thursday, February 8, and Saturday, February 10, at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, tenor Limmie Pulliam plays the role.

The cast of Florida Grand Opera’s I Pagliacci: Kearstin Piper Brown (Nedda), Limmie Pulliam (Canio), Eleomar Cuello (Silvio), Joseph McBrayer (Beppe), and Robert Mellon (Tonio). Photo: Eric Joannes

In an interview while in Miami rehearsing for I Pagliacci and just before a guest appearance with New World Symphony, Pulliam agrees with the assessment of great singers before him – from Mario Lanza to Enrico Caruso to Luciano Pavarotti to Placido Domingo – that the role is a challenge. The character must embody many moods, from the comedy of a clown to the drama of jealousy that turns to murderous rage. There’s the spotlight, too, on what has become one of the most recognized tenor arias and one of the most powerful and emotional songs in the world of opera, “Vesti la giubba.”

Pulliam acknowledges those things, but there is also another challenge many tenors before him may not have faced. Pulliam is a Black singer-actor in the role, which is not the traditional casting.

First published at Miami New Times, January 24, 2024

Read full article here.