Pagliacci (1982 film)

Pagliacci
Plácido Domingo as Canio
Written byRuggiero Leoncavallo
Directed byFranco Zeffirelli
StarringPlácido Domingo
Country of originItaly
Original languageItalian
Production
CinematographyArmando Nannuzzi
EditorGiorgio De Vincenzo
Running time72 minutes
Original release
Release1982 (1982)

Pagliacci is a 1982 Italian film of Ruggero Leoncavallo's opera Pagliacci, directed by Franco Zeffirelli. All the actors, including Plácido Domingo and Teresa Stratas in the starring roles, were opera singers who sang their own parts. Pagliacci was shot at Milan's La Scala opera house and on a movie sound stage. Georges Prêtre conducted the Orchestra and Choir of La Scala.

The film was screened out of competition at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. It was also shown on Italian and U.S. television and brought Zeffirelli an Emmy Award for Best Director in the category of Classical Music Programming. In 2003, Pagliacci was re-released on DVD by Deutsche Grammophon (having earlier been released by Philips/Decca on DVD), paired with Cavalleria rusticana (also starring Plácido Domingo).