Neil Shicoff in Pagliacci
21 April

For the first time on our stage, the legendary Neil Shicoff will sing the role of Canio in Pagliacci. The singer, who has enjoyed a long and fruitful partnership with the Mikhailovsky Theatre and is the recipient of a Golden Mask award for his performance as Eléazar in Jacques Halévy’s La Juive, will now showcase this equally remarkable work.

Shicoff made his debut as Canio in January 2014 at the Vienna State Opera. “Shicoff in the role of Canio stirred audiences from the very first note and shone with the depth of his portrayal until the end of the opera”, wrote Viennese critics after the first performance, praising above all the singer’s clarity of vision and subtlety of feeling for the role, a difficult one he took up at a relatively advanced age. Austria’s largest newspaper, Kronen Zeitung, wrote: “The tenor demonstrated astonishing poise in his rendition of the famous aria ‘Vesti la giubba’, including some incredibly high notes, making for a triumphant depiction of an anguished heart!”

The performance on 21 April will be dedicated to the singer’s 40-year musical career.