9-10 Oct 2004. For two days the National Concert Hall in Dublin is playing host to Mihai Munteanu, the international tenor, in his acclaimed role, and Ion Stanc, a the famous clown who trained at the Bolshoi Moscow Circus.

The famous coupling of Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, a Sicilian love story, and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, another tragedy set among atroupe of travelling clowns, has been immensely popular for years and is affectionately known as Cav/Pag. Cav took 60 curtain calls at its premiere and contains many of those popular tunes you've heard on the radio, including the Intermezzo, The Easter Hymn and the Brindisi. Pag provides one of the most testing roles for a tenor, with its moving aria known as the Ballatella.