Pietro Mascagni
7 December 1863 — 2 August 1945
Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni (December 7, 1863 – August 2, 1945) was an Italian composer most noted for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music. Though it has been stated that Mascagni, like Leoncavallo, was a "one-opera man" who could never repeat his first success, this is inaccurate. L'amico Fritz and Iris have been popular in Europe since their respective premieres. In fact, Mascagni himself claimed that at one point Iris was performed in Italy more often than Cavalleria (cf. Stivender).
Operas
| Opera | Premiere or date of written | Libretti available |
|---|---|---|
| Cavalleria rusticana | 1890, May 17 | italian, english, russian |
| Zanetto | 1896, March 2 | italian, english |
History
| May 6, 1840 | Italian composer Pietro Mascagni, known for the verismo opera "Cavalleria rusticana", was born in Livorno. |
| April 11, 1890 | Italian composer Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana" received one of its early performances in Rome following its successful premiere earlier that year. |
| May 17, 1890 | Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana" (often translated as "Rustic Chivalry") received its world premiere at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. |
| May 3, 1891 | The premiere of Pietro Mascagni's opera "L'amico Fritz" took place in Rome. |
| October 31, 1891 | Pietro Mascagni's three-act opera "L'amico Fritz" received its world premiere at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. Following the sensational success of "Cavalleria rusticana", Mascagni turned to a gentler romantic story based on a novel by Erckmann-Chatrian, with a libretto attributed to P. Suardon. |
| November 10, 1892 | Pietro Mascagni's four-act opera "I Rantzau", with a libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, received its world premiere at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence. |
| March 2, 1896 | Pietro Mascagni’s one-act opera "Zanetto" received its world premiere at the Teatro Rossini in Pesaro. |
| October 14, 1896 | Premiere of Pietro Mascagni’s opera "Silvano" at La Scala in Milan. The opera was well received for its orchestration but never gained the success of *Cavalleria rusticana*. |
| August 2, 1945 | Death of Italian composer Pietro Mascagni in Rome at age 81, whose one-act opera "Cavalleria rusticana" ushered in the Verismo era. |
| September 7, 2018 | San Francisco Opera season opened with a double bill of Mascagni’s "Cavalleria Rusticana" and Leoncavallo’s "I Pagliacci". |
