Cavalleria Rusticana: “Let us sing hymns; the Lord is not dead”

We’re diving into timeless arias from Pietro Mascagni’s opera Cavalleria Rusticana.

Here’s “Inneggiamo, il Signor non è morto” (“Let us sing hymns, the Lord is not dead” )

This is my favorite aria in the opera. There is a dichotomy in the action on stage – villagers are celebrating Christ’s resurrection, while Santuzza is the outcast, tormented by her seduction and abandonment by Turiddu, her sense of shame and dishonor, and her feeling of being unworthy (or “excommunicated” in her own eyes) due to her perceived sins. This leads her to remain outside the church after the hymn, unable to join the others inside. The contrast between two emotions, happiness and sadness, is striking. #TimelessArias