By  Margot Thomas

THE 100 STRONG cast  of Opera Panama’s  latest presentation Ruggero Leoncavallo’s, Pagliacci  is headed by a group of polished international performers with  Czech tenor Jakup Pustina, Mexican soprano Patricia Perez,Mexican baritones Paul Atahualpa and Vladimir Rueda and American conductor Robert Thieme.

Panamanians performing leading roles are , soprano Susan Samudio tenor Juan Pomares Lucas Rivas and Jose Alvarez-Torres.

They are all harmonized into a vibrant performance under the direction of the Opera Foundation’s founder, dramatic soprano Irena Sylya, who has once again successfully  blended  local and  international talent and given a local children’s choir from the Athena Institute the chance to shine in a professional performance.

Paliagicci  the only  Leoncavallo opera still widely staged,  had its first performance in Milan in 1892with the orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini..

For the Panama production the National Symphony Orchestra will be under the baton of celebrated  American conductor Robert Thieme.

If you have read the recent statistics on teen pregnancies, or followed the exposure of adultery sites, you will know that in these days unrequited love is almost as rare as an uncorrupted Panama politician.

 Leoncavallo wrote the libretto and the music of the opera and introduced the traditional ingredients: lovelorn, infidelity , jealousy and bathos wrapped up in the story of a group of traveling entertainers and spelled out in the  famous arias where Paliagicci.  the clown, lets us know early on that behind his mask is a human being, setting us  up for his later heartbreak.  and in "Vesti la giubba" ("Put on the costume",  or  "On With the Motley") reveals his inner strength as he readies himself for a performances, because “the show must go on.”. The aria’s recording in 1902 became the world’s first million disc sale.

So there’s much to look forward to on Tuesday September 2 and Wednesday September 3, at discounted prices.