R. Leoncavallo opera „Pagliacci“ | Kita Opera

Behind a clown’s make-up is a human being who must entertain others even when his own world is falling apart. Ruggero Leoncavallo’s opera Pagliacci (“Pajacai”) tells a story of love, jealousy and the fragile boundary between performance and reality.

A company of travelling performers arrives in a small Italian town in the late nineteenth century. The townspeople await the evening’s performance, and a festive mood fills the air. Yet Nedda, one of the performers, secretly dreams of a different life, while her husband Canio is increasingly consumed by jealousy. As the performers prepare to take the stage, tensions between them grow. When the evening’s performance begins, laughter and playful theatrical characters can no longer conceal their true feelings: before the audience’s eyes, the boundary between the stage and life begins to disappear.

Independent opera company Kita Opera presents a staged production of the opera with a chamber orchestra, directed by Roxana Nite (Romania). Music Director and Conductor – Andrew Charity (United Kingdom). The chorus is prepared by Indra Mažuikaitė-Kubiliūnienė.

This story invites us to look at the people behind the roles they play – at the contrast between the mask of an actor entertaining the crowd and his unbearable inner turmoil.

Performed in Italian with Lithuanian surtitles. Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes, including an interval.

Director: Roxana Nite

Opera director, producer and vocal coach; founder and artistic director of Clyde Opera in Glasgow. Her productions for the company include The Barber of Seville, Don Giovanni and Carmen. In 2026 she was producer and artistic director of its tenth-anniversary production of La bohème. In 2022 she was awarded Romania’s Order of Cultural Merit in the rank of Knight for the promotion of culture.

Musical director and conductor: Andrew Charity

Conductor, pianist and singing teacher who studied at the Royal College of Music and the London Opera Centre. He was musical director of OperaUpClose’s award-winning production of La bohème and has worked with a range of opera companies, including North Wales Opera Studio. His repertoire of operas conducted and played includes Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci.

Chorus director: Indra Mažuikaitė-Kubiliūnienė

Music educator, choir director and composer with more than 25 years of teaching experience. Her work encompasses music and choral education, musical theatre and professional development for teachers. She writes vocal and instrumental music for children and adults and has created song collections and musicals. For this production of Pagliacci, she prepares the chorus musically.

The soloist cast will be announced in November 2026.