Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci, Royal Opera House review ★★★★★

The very talented Italian director Damiano Michieletto's 2015 production of 'Cav & Pag' is now as much a fixture at the Royal Opera House as the grand staircase or the champagne bar. Like Jonathan Kent's Tosca (2006) and Richard Eyre's La Traviata (1994), it feels unimprovable and destined for a long stay.

But don't rely on my hunch and put off going: this production gets under your skin; when it's revived yet again, you'll simply go back for more.

Both short operas are about the painful loves of ordinary people. Among Michieletto's many brilliant ideas is staging both in the same 1950s Italian village, with overlapping characters. The lovers in Pagliacci first meet, voicelessly, in the instrumental intermezzo of the opening opera, Cavalleria Rusticana. Wounded characters from 'Cav' are similarly reconciled in the intermezzo of 'Pag'.

Pagliacci's Nedda (Anna Princess) and Silvio (Andrzej Filończyk) first meet in Cavalleria Rusticana. Photo: Marc Brenner

The villagers, sung by the Royal Opera Chorus, throng both the street where the popular bakery in 'Cav' turns out delicious-looking loaves, and the community hall, an all-purpose venue with wall-bars, strip lighting and a crucifix, where the travelling players in 'Pag' will perform.

In Cavalleria Rusticana, tenor and Covent Garden favourite Roberto Alagna – who was cuckolded Canio in last year's Pagliacci – is the village playboy. Turiddu, his slicked-back hair, clinging white T-shirt and gold medallion like catnip to the local young women. Loyal Santuzza in her button-down frock is no match for sexy, black-lace Lola (mezzo-soprano Rachel Wilson), with whom Turiddu has had a fling while her spivvy husband, Alfio, was on the road.

Wracked with guilt about losing her virginity to him, Santuzza imagines (and we see) that the statue of the Madonna, borne in an Easter Day procession, is pointing an accusing finger at her, a thrilling moment.

The Easter Day procession in Cavalleria Rusticana. Photo: Marc Brenner

This was an evening of curious tempi, however. Perhaps conductor Daniel Oren was trying to suggest the languor of heat in the lethargic overture. But it's March, or April… And then the ceremony in the street, in this revival by Noa Naamat, goes at such a lick the Virgin Mary could pick up a speeding ticket. Such processions in Roman Catholic countries are almost creepily slow – those floats are a ton-weight. There is music to spare. Why the rush?

The drama is powerful, nonetheless, and while the baking slightly upstages the early action, the inevitable showdown between stricken Santuzza and Turiddu really takes off. I'm sure there's never a cross word in the real-life marriage of Alagna and Polish-born soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, but on stage their characters' layers of desolation, recriminations and regret are most painfully unpeeled.

When it comes to pain, there is no one like mezzo-soprano Elena Zilio, who sings Mamma Lucia, her grief book-ending the opera. At 82, her unshakeable voice rings true, in a sea of falsehoods, and she has the most expressive hands in the business. Thrusting down her fists in despair, she is a desolate angel straight out of a Giotto lamentation. That gesture alone moves me to tears, every time.

Elena Zilio's Mamma Lucia mourns her son Turiddu. Photo: Marc Brenner

Greek baritone Dimitri Platanias, as Alfio in 'Cav' and as jealous Tonio in 'Pag', first returns home in a flashy car laden with tat, then preys on pretty Nedda, relaying her affair to her husband when his own very nasty attempts to seduce her fail. These are two very fine performances, more nuanced than this brief description suggests, and with vocal variety that almost makes you pity unappealing Tonio in particular.

The theatre troupe are to do a knockabout play about a flirty wife and her jealous husband. When this theme spills over into life backstage, Canio, deranged by drink and suspicion, lives out the action behind the scenes instead of in front of the audience.

As Canio's jealousy boils dangerously back on stage, secret lover Silvio is outed. Polish-born baritone Andrzej Filończyk is fine-voiced and very engaging in this role.

Life mirrors art for Nedda (Anna Princeva) and Canio (Jorge de León). Photo: Marc Brenner

Jorge de Léon's house debut, as Canio, pleased an audience that was waiting for the opera's big moment, his tears-of-a-clown aria: Vesti la giubba – 'put on the costume or 'on with the motley'. It was sung somewhat one note at a time, but grew in power. Anna Princeva as Nedda moves superbly, flung from man to man, while singing impeccably, a real star turn.

Despite the sometimes leaden tempi, there is some lovely, colourful orchestral playing, especially from the scrumptiously mournful cellos.

But the other stars of the show are Michieletto's regular collaborators – set designer Paolo Fantin and costume designer Carla Tati. This winning team (literally – 'Cav & Pag' scooped an Olivier award) are back in action in April, with Michieletto's new production of Carmen. Perhaps it too will run and run.

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Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci are sung in Italian with English surtitles. It is a co-production with Opera Australia, La Monnaie Brussels, and The Göteborg Opera. Further performances are on Friday 8, Monday 11, Wednesday 13, Friday 15 December. Click here to book