Iris (2022): reparto, argumento y streaming

Released in 2022, Iris is a música film directed by Hiroki Ihara, running about 140 minutes. “Recorded Live at the Teatro Goldoni, Livorno, 2017” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Following the runaway success of Cavalleria rusticana in 1890 at the age of 27, Mascagni did not rest on his laurels. In just a few years, he completed five operas, including Iris, premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome in 1898. Mascagni might well have taken for his own Puccini's famous quip, “Against everything and everyone, make a work from melody”. And in Iris it is melodic invention which shows the composer's genius at its greatest. A melody by Mascagni is usually long, smooth and Italian-sounding; and Iris is full-on melody all the way, particularly in such crowd-pleasers as Jor's Serenade, the “Hymn of the Sun” or the duet in Act II “Oh come al tuo sottile corpo s'aggira”, which includes the famous “Piovra”. Furtheremore, with a little effort listeners can identify what would be the various musical “numbers”. In Iris, Mascagni is almost obsessively attentive to recitative and his exemplary flexibility at times recalls the sublime "conversation style" "invented" by Puccini.

Who’s in it. Iris stars Manrico Signorini as Il Cieco, Paoletta Marrocu as Iris, Paolo Atognetti as Osaka and Carmine Monaco d'Ambrosia as Kyoto, among others.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Iris page.

If you liked it. Fans of Iris tend to enjoy Whiplash, Coco, Green Book and La leyenda del pianista en el océano.