from Act I of the Italian opera
I Pagliacci by Ruggiero Leoncavallo
Libretto: Ruggiero Leoncavallo
Role: Nedda, Canio's wife (Columbine in the play)
Voice Part: soprano Fach: lyric soprano
Setting: The entrance to a village, Calabria, Italy, 1860s
Synopsis: Nedda watches her jealous and abusive husband go off with Beppe and some of the villagers after announcing the play the troupe will perform that night. She fears his discovery and then wonders about the soaring of songbirds and the meanings of their songs.