The great tenor aria, Vesti la giubba, expresses the anguish of the cuckolded husband who, as a performing clown, must make others laugh even as his heart is breaking.

Zeffirelli’s production is set in a contemporary urban environment, with fire eaters, children, animals, jugglers and acrobats.

Plácido Domingo, showing that he is arguably the finest actor-tenor of our time, gives a definitive performance as Canio.

Recorded live at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Opera House in November 1997.