Talk:Pagliacci

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1 The 11th century
2 Engelbert Humperdinck's "when there's no you"
3 Pagliacci in popular culture
4 One act?
5 Trivia
6 Disambiguation
7 Title
8 Vesti la giubba

[edit] The 11th century

Does anyone get this? Herbivore 02:45, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Engelbert Humperdinck's "when there's no you"

Would it be appropriate to add a mention of Engelbert Humperdinck's "when there's no you" in the popular culture section? The melody in the chorus of "When There's No You" is almost identical to the part of "vesti la giubba" that goes:

Ridi, Pagliaccio, sul tuo amore infranto, ridi del duol che t'avvelena il cor!

(an english translation that I found and spellchecked)

Laugh, Pagliaccio, over your shattered love, laugh at the pain that is poisoning your heart!

Here are the lyrics to Humperdinck's song:

My heart is breaking. It was yours for the taking. You said we're through, What can I do, When there's no you?

Thanks in advance for your input. Ycaps123 21:04, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Since I didn't get any feedback, Ill go ahead and make the proposed addition. Ycaps123 20:01, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pagliacci in popular culture

Is it time to hive off the section Pagliacci in popular culture and make it into a new page? - Kleinzach 08:29, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

I would say no. This page isn't all that long as it is, and "Pagliacci in popular culture" is much too specific a subject. I don't think anybody is going to search for that. Kafziel 13:58, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

This section continues to grow and grow. Time to make it a separate article? - Kleinzach 09:34, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] One act?

The article states "It was to be one act long...". Is this correct? At what stage and for what reason did it become two acts? --David Edgar 11:18, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia

I have moved all the trivia relating to Vesti la giubba (six points) to that arias page. I have removed the following, as they have little reference to the opera specifically:

In the August 14, 1939, episode of the Shadow, "The Tenor With a Broke Voice", the plot revolved around murders occurring during a production of Pagliacci. The killer turned out to be the former star of the production, who lost his voice during a performance and wanted revenge.

Billie Holiday sang a song entitled "The Masquerade is Over" which included the lyrics, "I guess I'll have to play Pagliacci and get myself a clown's disguise / And learn to laugh like Pagliacci with tears in my eyes."

The January 26, 1966, episode of Batman, "The Joker is Wild", contained a scene in which the Joker appeared in a performance of Pagliacci. This scene contained the cliffhanger of the episode, and so was continued on the next episode, "Batman is Riled."

Pagliacci is referenced in the classic 1960s Northern soul song, "I can't get away" by Bobby Garrett, in the line, "Just like Pagliacci, the clown, sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down."

Pagliacci is referenced in the 1970 song, The Tears of a Clown by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles in the line, "Just like Pagliacci did, I try to keep my sadness hid."

In the 1987 film The Untouchables, Al Capone (played by Robert DeNiro), is attending a performance of the opera, openly crying, when his henchman, Frank Nitti, enters and tells him that he has killed Chicago Police Officer Jim Malone. Capone then stops crying and begins to quietly laugh.

Pagliacci is mentioned in a 1989 song, Your Bozo's Back Again, by Ray Stevens. The song compares the singer to a true fool, a clown, since he constantly returns to an unfaithful lover. The line states: "I might as well wear grease paint, the way I play my part, but like Pagliacci, I'm playing with a real, live broken heart."

In 1986, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' graphic novel Watchmen was first published. One of the book's characters, Rorschach, writes in his journal of a joke he once heard involving Pagliacci, in response to the death of another character, The Comedian. The joke consists of a man going to a doctor and complaining of depression. The doctor tells him to go to the show of the "great clown Pagliacci" in order to cheer him up. However, the man breaks down and cries, telling the doctor that he, in fact, is the clown Pagliacci. (Coming full circle with these pop culture Pagliacci references, this quote also reflects the oft-repeated lament that the perenially-depressed Groucho Marx was the only person in the world who didn't have Groucho Marx to cheer him up, as can be heard in the documentary The Unknown Marx Brothers, among other places.)

"The Opera", an episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld, features a spoof of Pagliacci, wherein the major characters attend a performance of the opera while "Crazy" Joe Davola disguises himself as Pagliaccio the clown to seek a tragic revenge.

The 1954 song Mr. Sandman contains the line, "Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci, and lots of wavy hair like Liberace."

On December 11, 2005, The Simpsons premiered a new episode which consisted of the Simpson family going to Italy, and after a twist of events, ending up on stage for a Pagliacci show at the Colosseum, with Sideshow Bob, along with his wife and son, trying to kill the whole family as part of the act.

The most recent Batman Animated Series (The Batman) featured an episode in it's second season in which Bruce Wayne not only attends the Opera at the beginning but later on the Joker steals the original Pagliacci costume. The opening scene features Detective Yin's capture by the Joker and features music from the opera as does much of the episode with the Joker singing the aria "Vesti La Giubba" later on. (The Batman, Season 2 Episode 12, Strange Minds First Aired: Saturday September 3, 2005)

I think each of these will need to be examined by someone who has a broader view of these issues, to decide whether they stay or go. --Alexs letterbox 09:27, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

I agree with your editing and deletions. - Kleinzach 13:16, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

I don't see why many of these were deleted. They are, in act, references to this topic.

Please sign your comment. - Kleinzach 03:31, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

Please respond to the actual content of the message

Don't you hate it when someone doesn't do what they're supposed to Mr. Unsigned Comments. JeffyP 01:02, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Disambiguation

I don't know if this should be a redirect from Pagliaccio, who is a character in the commedia dell'arte. I think Pagliaccio should get his own page, and there could be a disambiguation thing about it.--Sobekneferu 06:50, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Title

Now, I may be wrong, but I thought it was "Il Pagliacci"? Or am I completely mistaken? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Adam Cuerden (talk • contribs).

As I understand it (and I'm no expert on Italian), "pagliacci" is plural. And "il" is the singular definite article ("i" being the plural "the"). So "Il Pagliacci" would be incorrect grammar.

As to whether the title should be "I Pagliaggi", this is addressed at the start of the article where it says "The title is sometimes incorrectly rendered I pagliacci (The Clowns)." Is it this that you disagree with? --David Edgar 10:37, 9 October 2006 (UTC)