Director

Art imitates life in English Touring Opera’s new production of Pagliacci.

When Canio, leader of a theatre troupe, sees his life reflected in rehearsals for an upcoming opera, he becomes convinced that his wife is having an affair. Can Canio temper his spiralling emotions, or will his jealousy get the better of him?

Ripped from the headlines about a real-life crime case from composer Ruggero Leoncavallo’s own childhood, Pagliacci packs passion, melodrama and revenge into an intense 90 minutes of drama. 

Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci

When Canio, leader of a theatre troupe, sees his life reflected in rehearsals for an upcoming opera, he becomes convinced that his wife is having an affair. Can Canio temper his spiralling emotions, or will his jealousy get the better of him?

Art imitates life in English Touring Opera’s new production of Pagliacci. Ripped from the headlines about a real-life crime case from composer Ruggero Leoncavallo’s own childhood, Pagliacci packs passion, melodrama and revenge into an intense 90 minutes of drama. Eleanor Burke (founder of the pioneering sustainable opera company, Green Opera) makes her directorial debut with ETO alongside ETO Music Director Gerry Cornelius.

EPSG:4326

Pagliacci

Gala Theatre & Cinema

Buxton Opera House

King's College, Cambridge

Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury

The Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

Storyhouse Chester

Hackney Empire

Norwich Theatre Royal

Lyceum Theatre

Hall for Cornwall

The 2023/24 Jette Parker Artists perform an uplifting array of opera excerpts on the main stage, accompanied by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

Jette Parker Artists Summer Performances

Royal Opera House

From Opera Holland Park’s foundation in 1996, Puccini has been central to the company’s programming. From multiple productions of La bohème, Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly and La rondine across three decades to individual highlights including the Royal Philharmonic Society Award-nominated 2015 production of Il Trittico, our first staging of Le Villi in 2023 and the triumphant 2024 revival of Stephen Barlow’s ground-breaking 2012 production of Tosca, our work has included a semi-staging of the early romance, Edgar and a concert performance of the Messa di Gloria. In 2026, following Martin Lloyd-Evans’s new production of La fanciulla del West, the company’s third staging of this opera, we complete this journey of discovery with a concert staging of Puccini’s final opera, Turandot, completed after the composer’s death in 1924 by Franco Alfano.

Turandot

Opera Holland Park

Director

Eleanor Burke

Events

Upcoming events

23 - 27 Jun, 2026

Turandot · Opera Holland Park

Past events

May 1, 2026

Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci · The Marlowe Theatre

Mar 21 - May 20, 2026

Pagliacci · English Touring Opera

About

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