Pag cleverly uses a commedia dell'arte troupe to enact a verismo tragedy.
Considered the stronger half of the popular "Cav and Pag" double bill, Pagliacci (the clowns) is Leoncavallo's one surviving hit, usually paired with Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. Pag cleverly uses a commedia dell'arte troupe to enact a verismo tragedy. Top tenors love to sing the broken-hearted clown's Vesti la Giubba (Put On the Motley).