While preparing for a performance with their commedia dell’arte troupe, Canio becomes enraged when he discovers that his wife, Nedda, has been having an affair. She refuses to give her lover’s name, as their castmate Beppe urges them to get into costume. During the performance, Canio returns to his jealous rage, and Nedda’s young lover, Silvio, rushes the stage to save her—culminating in a very real tragedy. Featuring one of the most well known arias of all time, “Vesti la giubba,” Pagliacci is a verismo masterpiece of dramatic proportions.