Teatro Nuovo is a bel canto opera company with a difference. Just as when the scores were new, the company performs them without a conductor, relying instead on in-the-moment interplay between the musicians in the orchestra and the singers on the stage. Past performances have left lay audiences delighted and specialists agog. This year’s double whammy (“previewing” in New Jersey ahead of the big nights at Lincoln Center) is a topsy-turvy case of tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight. First up: Donizetti’s obscure Poliuto, once a legendary vehicle for Maria Callas and Franco Corelli as Christians en route to martyrdom in ancient Rome. The chaser: Crispino e la Comare, a spoof on quacks and other bullshit artistes from the pens of the forgotten Luigi and Federico Ricci, brothers who in their salad days had all Napoli in stitches with their dozens of hit comedies. —Matthew Gurewitsch