Artiste: Rodolfo Giugliani

A terrific double bill of two one-act operas: Der Zwerg (The Dwarf) by Alexander von Zemlinsky and Il tabarro by Giacomo Puccini.

San Diego Opera's season opening Pagliacci focused squarely on the character of Tonio, in Andrew Sinclair's intriguing vision for this verismo classic. But the vocal performances were lacking. A director can only do so much.