Cavalleria rusticana

views updated

Cavalleria rusticana (Rustic Chivalry). Opera (melodramma) in 1 act by Mascagni to lib. by Menasci and Targioni-Tozzetti based on play (1884) by Verga adapted from his short story (1880). Won prize for 1-act opera in competition organized by Sonzogno, 1889. Prod. Rome 1890, London 1891. Usually perf. as double bill with Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, hence the vernacular ‘Cav. and Pag.’. Another 1-act opera with the same title was comp. in 1906 by Domenico Monleone and f.p. Amsterdam 1907.