As a representative of the verismo movement in Italian opera, Ruggero Leoncavallo brought a realism onto the operatic stage with his intense verbal texts and rich harmonic music. Based on an actual crime, the opera ‘Pagliacci’ owes its continuing success in part to the composer’s ability to balance humour, romance, and darkly violent moods. The modern ‘Pag-Cav’ production was staged at De Nationale Opera - Dutch National Opera in 2019. Musical Opinion commented: “It was refreshing to be able to