Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci, New Theatre, Cardiff

Elijah Moshinsky's production of the terrible twins, Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci, was originally done seven years ago to mark Welsh National Opera's 50th birthday, by reviving one of the two bills with which it first hit the boards in 1946. Mascagni's archetypal gut-tearer was staged as an echo of post-war provincial realism, complete with Sicilian village, backslapping, wine-slurping chorus, and all the rest of the good old operatic clutter. Leoncavallo's subtler piece represented modern production values, bare stage but for a clapped-out lorry for the travelling theatre, 1940s dress, and clever lighting.

So it makes sense that in Robin Tebbutt's revival, Cav has been left to stew in its old-fashioned juice, while Pag has been re-updated and brought into the 21st century. Cav is now openly treated as the model for crude verismo at its worst, with singing and playing to match. There's little of the tension and ferocity that can redeem the pasteboard dramaturgy, while tunes are thumped out at mind-numbing fortissimo. Only Katja Lytting as Santuzza shows genuine interest in proceedings. Cav may not be a great piece, but it's better than this.

Tebbutt's restaging of Pagliacci is on a different planet, and considerably altered, nearly always for the better. The street theatre is brilliant, with much sophisticated by-play with props and stagehands, improbable in old Calabria, no doubt, but witty and touching, and with the sudden switch from commedia dell'arte to violent tragedy handled with masterly timing. The music, with its Wagnerian shades, naturally profits, and the singers especially. Dennis O'Neill – a mere Italian tenor as Turiddu in Cav – is Canio to the life, and Nuccia Focile is a lovely, fresh Nedda, sweet in the ballatella, clever in the play. Jonathan Summers, so-so as Alfio, moves into three dimensions with Tonio, and there is a strong Silvio in Leigh Melrose.

WNO's new music director, Tugan Sokhiev (left), seems to have chosen this bill for his Cardiff operatic debut. Not a good sign, and the verdict post-performance is not great. Consistently rough orchestral playing and poor chorus ensemble are no longer the stuff of WNO, whatever they may have been in 1946.