Pagliacci
Orson Welles has been famously quoted as saying, “The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” While we dearly wish that the arts and culture sector had fewer limitations (especially financial), when limitations are imposed on – say, a pandemic – the arts respond with brilliance and resilience.
Take Lyric Opera of Chicago, for example. Opera’s very nature made it one of the hardest hit parts of an already hard-hit sector, and COVID required Lyric to literally scrap every plan they’d made and start from scratch.
Lyric’s response? Work with HMS to make new plans, reimagine how to perform and present opera and in the process become a global leader in live streaming.
One of our favorite examples: this brilliant reboot of an operatic chestnut. If you have to move from stage to screen, why not set Pagliacci in the world of television? Transplanting the action from a traveling commedia dell’arte troupe to The Honeymooners, audiences effectively saw Ralph Kramden kill Alice on live TV. It was a mesmerizing production that entertained and challenged its audience while addressing the serious issue of domestic violence.
Pagliacci was a thrilling production to watch and a wonderful example of how the arts respond to what’s happening in the world.
And, oh yeah, it won a couple of Emmy Awards.