Together again at Seattle Opera after almost four decades, Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci comprise Italian opera’s most beloved double-bill. Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces Cav/Pag, with musical examples from Seattle Opera’s 1990 archival recording of Cavalleria rusticana, conducted by Cal Stewart Kellog with Makvala Kasrashvili as Santuzza, James Hoback as Turridu, Cristiane Young as Lola, and Ron Peo as Alfio; and 2008 archival recording of Pagliacci, with Antonello Palombi as Canio, Nuccia Focile as Nedda, Morgan Smith as Silvio, and Gordon Hawkins as Tonio. Special examples feature Fiorenza Cossotto as Santuzza and Enrico Caruso as Canio.