Tragedy in opera can deliver an emotional sucker punch like no other medium. Usually, the music is to blame. But when the main characters also work in a clown troupe and must continue to entertain ...

Ask the average Seattleite what they think of when they hear the word pagliacci and they’re almost guaranteed to answer “pizza”—or, maybe, “class action lawsuit.” One hundred years ago, though, the ...

Paul Groves was a child when he first heard that classic, mournful tenor aria usually sung by a clown on opera stages. The song — specifically one of its passages — is usually recognized even by those ...