A man goes to a doctor—that’s how the story always begins. “Doctor, I’m depressed,” the man says; life is harsh, unforgiving, cruel. The doctor lights up. The treatment, after all, is simple. “The ...

Life and art are invariably intertwined, but seldom as closely as in the opera “Pagliacci” (Clowns). Ruggero Leoncavallo’s opera about fatal jealousies in a traveling troupe of actors was based on a ...