Daniel Harding Leads Live Broadcast From La Scala 1/20, Rebroadcast 2/6

Conductor Daniel Harding, acclaimed for his intense and compelling operatic interpretations, will lead a live broadcast from La Scala of Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci at Symphony Space's Peter Jay Sharp Theatre on Thursday, January 20 at 2 p.m. An encore presentation will take place at the Sharp Theatre on February 6 at 7 p.m. Presented by Symphony Space and Emerging Pictures, the broadcasts are part of the Opera in Cinema series which brings high definition digital screenings of operas recorded at famed European opera houses to Manhattan.

A new production staged by Mario Martone, Cav / Pag will open in Milan on January 16, marking La Scala's first performance of the diptych since 1981. Daniel Harding, who opened La Scala's 2005-06 season conducting a new production of Idomeneo in his company debut, has since become a regular guest conductor and returns to lead the double-bill. The production features a cast of renowned singers including Luciana D'Intino (Santuzza), Salvatore Licitra (Turiddu), Giuseppina Piunti (Lola), Oksana Dyka (Nedda), José Cura (Canio), and Ambrogio Maestri (Tonio).
Single tickets are $27 for the January 20 live broadcast and $22 for the February 6 encore (members receive a $2 discount per ticket), and are available by visiting www.symphonyspace.org or by calling the box office at (212) 864-5400.
A popular double-bill, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci epitomize the verismo style which came to define late 19th century Italian opera, emphasizing the often sordid nature of mankind in everyday life. Cavalleria Rusticana, based on Giovanni Verga's short story, takes place in a Sicilian village on Easter morning. Santuzza, a peasant girl, discovers that her lover Turiddu has rekindled his relationship with married Lola. Distraught, Santuzza reveals Lola's infidelity to her husband Alfio, who challenges Turiddu to a duel. Pagliacci, an opera in two acts, centers on players in a comedia dell'arte troupe. Canio, head of the troupe and jealous husband of Nedda, is confirmed of his suspicions when he catches his wife with her lover Silvio. When The Players take the stage in the second act, Canio (as Pagliacci) confronts Nedda (as Colombina) once more, and inflicts his mortal revenge on her.
Daniel Harding is the Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Artistic Partner of the New Japan Philharmonic. Highlights of his 2010-11 season include conducting the 2011 New Year's Concerts at Teatro la Fenice in Venice, an 8 city U.S. tour with the Dresden Staatskapelle, and performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and Vienna Philharmonic. In March, he will return to the U.S. to conduct the New York Philharmonic in his debut concerts with the orchestra.