Product Description
Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) was a dazzling and influential figure in Italian opera during the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries.Just twenty-six when the electrifying premiere of his Cavalleria Rusticana at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome catapulted the impoverished musician into sudden fame and fortune, Mascagni went on to write fifteen more operas, including L'Amico Fritz, Guglielmo Ratcliff, Iris, Parisina, and Il Piccolo Marat.As composer, conductor, teacher, lecturer, and writer, Mascagni was also intensely engaged in every aspect of Italian musical culture for over fifty years.

This first in-depth and objective biography of Mascagni charts the course of his intriguing life and career.With privileged access to extensive primary sources, including Mascagni's 4,200 letters to Anna Lolli, his mistress for more than three decades, Alan Mallach provides a compelling portrait of a flamboyant, combative, and emotional man who was passionately devoted to the Italian opera tradition and committed to innovation in musical language and dramatic form.

Deftly combining serious biography with critical commentary, Mallach begins with the captivating story of Mascagni's rags-to-riches adventure, from his birth in Livorno in Tuscany, to his musical studies first with Alfredo Soffredini and later at the Milan Conservatory, to his years as a vagabond musician, to the worldwide success of his breakthrough opera.He then traces Mascagni's private and professional life after Cavalleria, examining a prolific yet controversial career that was forever overshadowed by the work that unexpectedly thrust him into the limelight.Mallach provides a full analysis of Mascagni's oeuvre and discusses his complex relationships with such Italian cultural and political figures as Edoardo Sonzogno, Giacomo Puccini, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Luigi Illica, and Benito Mussolini.He also thoroughly chronicles Mascagni's bouts with manic depression, his marriage to Lina and devotion to their three children, his grueling schedule of concert and operatic tours, his patriotism and bitter opposition to Italy's involvement in both world wars, and his passionate love affair with Anna Lolli.

This richly textured biography will appeal to fans of the still beloved and popular Cavalleria, and it will introduce opera enthusiasts to the power, intensity, and melodic beauty of the brilliant composer's many other significant works. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Superb book on this great musical figure
Pietro Mascagni burst onto the operatic stage with the perennially popular "Cavalleria Rusticana" - his first produced opera - in 1890. Although he went on to create many other operas he was destined never to repeat the success unlike his contemporary Puccini who produced a string of successful operas many of which have held the stage.

Mascagni's later operas are flawed works - poor libretti, lack of hit tunes - but they are not insignificant works. Mallach traces the life of Mascagni and provides details on all his musical works. Aside from composition Mascagni was also a conductor, music school director, and doting father. Mallach paints a picture of a man who saw himself as the defender of Italian opera.

This is an excellent book for those who are interested in the man who wrote "Cavalleria Rusticana" but also provides interesting details on the Italian opera scene in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Make Room for Mascagni in your operatic world!
Pietro Mascgni is a nineteenth century operatic composer whose works deserve recongnition!Mascagi was a composer whose strength was melody; whose oeuvre was extensive and whose career spanned over half a century.The talented son of humble folks he became famous when his first opera Cavalleria Rusticana made him rich and famous!Like Lord Byron he woke up to find himself famous! Mallach describes the salient plot lines and comments with his musical expertise on all of the many unknown Mascagni operas.Mascagni was much more than a one opera composer. His character was bipolar and he was complex.His affair with his only mistress as well as stormy times with friends and family are given attention.However, the real value of this book is in the details of the maestro's works.Opera fans will relish Mallach's years of research in this first English language biography.

For anyone who has thrilled to a Pietro Mascagni opera
Exhaustively researched and adroitly written by pianist, composer, and independent scholar Alan Mallach, Pietro Mascagni And His Operas is the informative biography of talented Italian opera writer Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) whose great works include L'Amico Fritz, Guglielmo Ratcliff, Iris, Parisina, and many others. Written with privileged access to Mascagni's 4,200 letters to Anna Lolli, his mistress for more than thirty years, Pietro Mascagni and His Operas is an eye-opening portrait of a man's complex, talented life and his most remarkable music. Pietro Mascagni And His Operas is a welcome and very highly recommended addition to any Music History collection and "must" reading for anyone who has thrilled to a Pietro Mascagni opera. ... Read more

Product Description
Bringing together a vast amount of information on Pietro Mascagni and his works, this volume in the Greenwood Press series Bio-Bibliographies in Music includes a catalogue of the composer's works and performances, bibliography, discography, and brief biographical sketch. Mascagni is best known for Cavalleria Rusticana, but he wrote fifteen other stage works and over 100 other compositions, including sacred music, songs and film scores. Overshadowed by his contemporary Puccini and tainted by association with the fascist regime of Mussolini, Mascagni is both a famous and neglected opera composer. This volume charts the decline in performances of Mascagni's operas other than Cavalleria Rusticana and reveals a growing interest in and changing attitude toward the composer. The discography includes more than 2,500 recordings, and the annotated bibliography includes 361 titles. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Milan Conservatory Faculty, Giacomo Puccini, Pietro Mascagni, Arrigo Boito, Giacomo Manzoni, Riccardo Muti, Gian Carlo Menotti, Bruno Maderna, Claudio Abbado, Giovanni Bottesini, Riccardo Chailly, Vittorio Giannini, Ludovico Einaudi, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Gianandrea Noseda, Francisco Mignone, Kurken Alemshah, Antonio Cagnoni, Maurizio Pollini, Alberto Hemsi, Mario Nascimbene, Riccardo Sinigaglia, Carlo Rizzi, Francesco Mottino, Alfredo Catalani, Roberto Cani, Franco Faccio, Italo Montemezzi, Alberto Mazzucato, Pietro Abbà Cornaglia, Alceo Galliera, Arrigo Pedrollo, Giuseppe Andaloro, Carlo Vidusso, Riccardo Pick-Mangiagalli. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 156. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt:The Milan Conservatory (Conservatorio di musica "Giuseppe Verdi" di Milano ) is a college of music which was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan , capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy . It opened the following year with premisses in the cloisters of the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Passione. There were initially 18 boarders, including students of both sexes. Today it is the largest institute of musical education in Italy . During these two centuries, it has educated many of Italy's most important musicians, including Giacomo Puccini , Arrigo Boito , Giovanni Bottesini , Alfredo Catalani , Riccardo Chailly , Vittorio Giannini , Bruno Maderna , Pietro Mascagni , Gian Carlo Menotti , Francisco Mignone , Riccardo Muti , Kurken Alemshah , Italo Montemezzi , Alceo Galliera , Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli , Mario Nascimbene , Maurizio Pollini , Ludovico Einaudi , Riccardo Sinigaglia and Claudio Abbado . Among its past professors are Francesco Lamperti and his son Giovanni Battista Lamperti . Eminent professors at the Milan conservatory today include Giorgio Battistelli , Franco Donatoni , L... ... Read more

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This sheet music was newly engraved from early and authoritative editions. ... Read more

Product Description
A marriage of music and the written word. Set includes the full opera on two compact discs, accompanied by the complete libretto in its original language and English translation. Full-color photographs illustrate the history of the opera--and an entertaining text offers insights into the musical heritage of the composers, the music, and the performance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Another in a series
Being somewhat new to Opera, I have been a faithful student of this series of (Black Dog) books with CD. This particular book prepared me to see these two wonderful operas as well as to enjoy them afterwards at home.

Having the libretto is priceless and the CDs for both Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci are simply marvelous.

I felt I enjoyed the live performance I attended more after reading and listeming to this at home first, and now I have it forever to listen to again and again. Simply Wonderful!

Cavalleria Rusticana & I Pagliacci - Black Dog Collection
Combining both words and music, this edition of EMI's Black Dog Opera Library is a beautiful addition to any music lover's collection. At first I was hesitant to buy the book, as I already have a different version of thecomplete operas with liner notes. I don't regret the purchase at all now.With 125+ pages of history, biographical information and completelibrettos, the book is a sure bet.

Included in this hardbound book areCDs of the complete operas of Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci. You canlisten to the beautiful and emotional voices of Franco Corelli and VictoriaDe Los Angeles as you read about two of the most influential and powerfuloperas of all time.

If you are new to opera, I highly recommend thispackage as it will give you the chance to acquaint yourself with opera andlearn of the rich operatic history involved with these two classics.

Foropera lovers, you will appreciate this new approach to opera packaging--Ittakes liner notes to the next step and includes some of the best recordingsI have heard ever of these operas. Enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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No Description provided. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Mini-sized guide with maxi-helpful information
The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series is just wonderful; it's like a "CliffNote" of the opera, and extremely informative and educational.Iparticularly like the size; these guides are not cumbersome and fit rightinto my shirt pocket. The ladies will find sufficient room in theirpocketbooks.

The story narrative with the music examples is excellent. Iprefer it to a libretto; indeed, it's a much easier way to follow theessence of the story. The essay is magnificent; very well written, notpedantic, and extremely insightful and comprehensible. I congratulateBurton Fisher for a job very well done and Amazon for making these handy,information-laden booklets available. The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Seriesis a wonderful contribution to opera education and opera appreciation.

Mytip: acquire the entire collection because you will be in easy reach ofsuperbly presented opera guides consisting of story analysis, principalcharacters in the opera, story narrative with music highlights, background,analysis, and commentary.

Heinz Dinter, Ph.D. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: History / Africa / South / Republic of South Africa; Language Arts ... Read more

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Vocal score with piano reduction. ... Read more