Enjoy twice the thrill with this double bill of the ever-popular Cavalleria rusticana and Rachmaninov’s rarely heard Aleko. In both gritty blood-soaked dramas, jealous love triangles plummet to violent ends

Cavalleria rusticana
Turiddù is the son of Lucia, who runs the village shop. He was dating Lola, but she eventually married another man, Alfio. Angered by this, Turiddù seduced Santuzza, a very religious girl. But Turiddù is still in love with Lola, and she, disillusioned with her new marriage, misses him as well.

On Easter Sunday morning, Santuzza visits Lucia to confront her about Turiddù’s behaviour. Alfio arrives with his newly acquired car – the only taxi in the village. Santuzza tells Lucia of her betrayal by Turiddù, and the community assembles to celebrate the Easter Mass.

Santuzza confronts Turiddù over his affair with Lola, which he angrily denies. But when Lola arrives, Turiddù can’t help but join her, leaving Santuzza alone. Consumed by rage and grief, Santuzza tells Alfio about his wife’s affair with Turiddù. Alfio swears vengeance. At the end of the service, the people leave the church. Turiddù challenges Alfio and then offers him a drink, which Alfio refuses, claiming it would turn to poison inside him.

Overwhelmed by guilt, Turiddù realizes how badly he has hurt Alfio, Lola, Santuzza and his mother. He asks Lucia for forgiveness, and meets his fate.

 Aleko
A bohemian community sing of the freedom of their free existence. An old man tells a story. Long ago, he loved Mariula who deserted him for another man, leaving behind Zemfira, their daughter. Zemfira is now grown up, has her own child, and lives with Aleko, a Russian who has abandoned civilisation for the bohemian way of life.

Hearing this story, Aleko is outraged that Zemfira’s father took no revenge on Mariula. But Zemfira disagrees. For her, love is free and she herself has already tired of Aleko’s possessiveness and now loves a younger man, one of her own people. After dances for the women and the men, all settle down to sleep.

Zemfira appears with her young lover, whom she kisses passionately before disappearing to look after her child. Aleko enters and Zemfira taunts him, singing about her wild lover.

Alone, Aleko broods on the catastrophe of his relationship with Zemfira and the failure of his attempt to flee the ordinary world. As dawn comes, he surprises Zemfira and her lover together. In a torment of jealousy, he kills them both. Led by Zemfira’s father, the community spare Aleko’s life but cast him out from them forever.