ABOUT

An evening of theater brimming with playfulness, dreamlike melodies, and profound emotion: Ruggero Leoncavallo’s renowned Pagliacci pairs with the rediscovered Le Maschere by Pietro Mascagni, offering a uniquely immersive opera experience. It’s a tale that follows the fate of a traveling troupe in southern Italy, all while exploring the line between reality and illusion on stage. With humor and passion, the performers bridge the centuries-old art of Commedia dell’arte with the present day.

For this touring production by Berlin’s Compagnia Nuova, Mien Bogaert designed an ingenious compact set that fits entirely on a single Euro pallet. Semi-transparent industrial PVC strip curtains, lit from behind, conjure a Tuscan landscape, while masks, costumes, and tripods emerge from the pallet itself. A modest field kitchen – the second transformation of the pallet – forms the backdrop for the everyday lives of the performers. Later, two-dimensional furniture glimmers onstage, setting the scene for the Pagliacci performance.