Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana making of... adriana lecouvreur aida aroldo ballo in maschera ... die walküre plus synopses/libretti some lyrics Verdiana! Pucciniana! ... OperaResource CAVALLERIA the premiere Cavalleria Rusticana: melodramma in one act, libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci after the novella and the play of the same name by Giovanni Verga, music by Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945), first performed 17th May 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi, Rome, with the following cast: Santuzza: Gemma Bellincioni; Turiddu: Roberto Stagno; Alfio: Gaudenzio Salassa; Lola: Annetta Guli; Lucia: Federica Casali. Conductor: Leopoldo Mugnone The protagonists: Santuzza (soprano or mezzo-soprano), a peasant girl; Turiddu (tenor), a peasant; Alfio (baritone), a carrier; Lola (mezzo-soprano), Alfio's wife; Mamma Lucia (contralto), Turiddu's mother, an inn-keeper Villagers Location: a Sicilian village square; time: Easter Sunday, c. 1880 synopsis libretto CAVALLERIA background In 1888, the Milan publishing house Casa Sonzogno announced its second competition for young Italian composers; the subject: unpublished one-act operas. Mascagni, in his early twenties and fairly unsuccessful as a composer, decided to take part and set to work on a short opera that was to be called 'Serafina'. His friend and librettist Targioni-Tozzetti, however, after seeing the play, suggested 'Cavalleria Rusticana' and Mascagni - who had been present at the Milan premiere of the play some years earlier, and who had been fascinated by the subject, agreed to start afresh. | |
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