P. Mascagni opera "Honour Rural"
When there is more passion than love, and more hatred than faith... Pietro Mascagni’s opera “Rural Honor” was created from such emotions, which shaped the characteristics and values of verismo. And with him she brought peasants, traveling comedians, the poor and the disadvantaged to the world’s largest stages - as opposed to the traditional opera aristocrats, historical figures or heroes of legends.
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Characters |
Description |
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| Santuzza | soprano | young peasant girl |
| Turrida | tenor | young peasant |
| Lucia | contralto | Turrida's mother |
| Alfio | baritone | coachman |
| Lola | mezzo-soprano | Alfio's wife |
Summary
Background. Before Turrido joined the army, he had romantic relationship with Lola. But, returning home, the young man discovered that his beloved had married Alfio. Despite the fact that the old passion still burned in him, he forgot himself in the warm embrace of Santuzza, whom he promised to take as his wife. Lola, seeing that Turrida was trying to start a life with someone else, again lured him into her network...
Early Easter Sunday morning in a Sicilian village, 1880. Turridou returns from a late night date with Lola. Meanwhile, Santuzza comes to his house and, guessing where her fiancé actually spent the night, begs Lucia to tell the truth about it. Turrida enters, Santuzza makes him a scene of jealousy, and he drives her away. In her hearts, she finds Alfio and tells him about the relationship between Turrido and Lola. The offended husband challenges his opponent to a duel and kills him.
Photo:
Interesting facts
- "Honor rusticana" was highly appreciated by such Mascagni contemporaries as D. Verdi And P.I. Tchaikovsky. Moreover, Verdi called the composer almost his successor. He only partly managed to justify such flattering expectations of the great maestro - among his subsequent 14 operas were the popular Friend Fritz and Iris, but now these titles are hardly familiar even to fans of the genre, since they did not rise to the level of Rural honor." And the real “heir” of traditions Italian opera, the musician who brought her to a new stage of development was D. Puccini.
- Mascagni is called “one opera man” or “author of one opera.” At the same time, during his lifetime he was placed in a row major composers Italy. What is its phenomenon? First of all, Mascagni, having tasted success, did not want to follow the beaten path, developing the veristic direction. He was interested in decadence, expressionism, orientalism, operetta, and new subjects. The publisher Giulio Ricordi, with whom the composer began to collaborate after the conflict with Sonzogno, offered him a libretto based on the short story “She-Wolf” by the same Verga. Mascagni refused and was eventually forced to look for a new publisher.
- D. Verga's novella attracted the attention of many musicians, and Mascagni was not even the first of them. In 1894, the writer's friend Giuseppe Perrotta wrote the symphonic poem "Rural Honor". Just a month before the triumph of Mascagni’s opera, the premiere of the opera “Evil Easter” by composer Stanislao Gastaldon took place at the same Costanzi Theater. It was a three-act work that did not impress the sophisticated audience at all. The most interesting thing is that Gastaldon also planned to participate in the Sonzogno competition, but he was outbid by D. Ricordi, who immediately ordered him an opera for Rome. In 1895, the Florentine Oreste Bimboni presented the opera Santuzza in Palermo. The Genoese Domenico Monleone wrote his “Rural Honor” in 1907, which was shown in Amsterdam. Mascagni’s lawyers demanded a ban on the performance of the understudy opera, their claims were satisfied, and Monleone transferred the music to another libretto, the opera became known as “The Battle of the Falcons.” Only in 1998, Monleone’s work was performed again in its original version. In addition to these fundamental works, in the 1890s different corners many parodies and comic operas based on the plot of "Rural Honor".
- The phenomenal success of “Honor Rusticana” quarreled three people involved in its appearance - the author of the original source, D. Verga, the publisher E. Sonzoño and P. Mascagni, who, until 1893, were trying to determine the ownership of the copyright in the opera in court. Verga eventually sued the publisher and composer for a record sum of 143,000 lire.
- Mascagni in 1940 took part in the audio recording of “Rural Honor”, organized in honor of the 50th anniversary of the premiere.
- Despite the cliché of verism assigned to Mascagni, the composer himself did not agree with it, not calling either himself or his work that way.
- The role of Santuzza turned out to be fateful in the career of Gemma Bellincione, its first performer. In this role, both her singing and acting talents were fully revealed; they began to trust her with the main roles of Puccini and Giordano, Massenet and Richard Strauss.
- During Mascagni's life, "Honor Rusticana" was performed 14,000 times in Italy alone - that's about 21 performances every month for 55 years in a row. Now opera is performed on world stages more than 700 times a year.
- The song “Mascagni”, dedicated to the great composer, was written for Andrea Bocelli to the music of Intermezzo.
Love and passion by Pietro Mascagni
In the life of Mascagni himself there were plenty of passions similar to those that so tormented his heroes. In 1888, he married Lina Carbonani, who supported him in difficult moments of lack of money and obscurity. Their first child, born before the wedding, died at four months. Lina was a very practical lady; even in moments of fame and prosperity, she continued to lead economically household. She was not only a faithful wife, but also a devoted person, ready to support any undertaking of her husband. The beginning of work on “Rural Honor” coincided with the birth of the long-awaited son Domenico, and then another son and daughter were born. Mascagni was a caring husband and a loving, attentive father. He remained this way even when another woman, Anna Lolly, appeared in his life.
It happened in 1910, he was 47, she was 22... A seemingly banal affair between an aging man and a young beauty turned into a connection that was broken only by the composer’s death in 1945. For 35 years, Mascagna effectively had two families, each aware of the existence of the other. Mascagni spent many summers with Anna in the small town of Bagnara di Romagna. Today, there, in the house of a local priest, a small museum is organized, which houses 5,000 unpublished letters from Mascagni to his beloved, testifying to his unfading feelings. The composer dedicated the operas “Isabeau” and “Parisina” to her.
History of creation and productions
Milanese newspaper magnate Edoardo Sonzogno announced in 1888 another competition one-act operas. A few years earlier, the jury of this competition, for various reasons, ignored D. Puccini’s first opera. A friend's bad experience didn't stop him young composer Pietro Mascagni. Three years have passed since he left the Milan Conservatory with a scandal. His family was so poor that he was unable to even buy music paper for himself. Having settled down as a conductor and teacher in music school In the Apulian city of Cerignola (geographically, this is the “spur” of the Italian “boot”), Mascagni tried unsuccessfully to write operas.
The composer commissioned the libretto from his friend, Giovanni Targioni-Tozetti, and the writer Guido Menaschi. Without exaggeration, it was based on the hit of its time, Giovanni Verga’s play “Rural Honor”. She successfully went to drama theater, main role The legendary E. Duse played in one of the productions. The music was ready in two months, but Mascagni delayed sending the notes because he doubted the success of his composition. IN last moment The manuscript was sent to the competition by his wife, Lina, to whom we are still grateful today for such a decisive action. The jury took a long time to choose the winner from 73 submitted works. “Rural Honor” was awarded the first prize, and its author received two years of support and a contract with the publishing house Sonzogno. Everything that Mascagni could only dream of before has come true!
On May 17, 1890, the premiere of “Rural Honor” took place at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. The unconditional success forced theaters to vie with the composer to sign contracts for productions. In the same year, the opera crossed the borders of Italy and began a triumphant march across the stages of Europe, and a year later it was staged in many cities in the United States. The Russian public also heard the novelty in 1891 thanks to the performance of an Italian troupe; in the next two years, various private operas began to perform it. In 1894, “Rural Honor” was performed at the Mariinsky Theater.
Mascagni's masterpiece opened a new direction in opera - verismo. The second and only verist opera of equal talent was “Pagliacci” by R. Leoncavallo, written two years later. Often they go on the same evening, chronological order, through the intermission from each other. IN opera world this tandem was nicknamed Cav-Pag (“Cavalleria rusticana” and “Pagliacci”).
The original name is Cavalleria rusticana.
An opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni with a libretto (in Italian) by Guido Menasci and Giovanni Tardgioni-Tozzetti, based on the play by Giovanni Verga, which, in turn, is a dramatization of his short story of the same name.
Characters:
SANTUZZA, young peasant woman (soprano)
TURIDDU, young soldier (tenor)
LUCIA, his mother (contralto)
ALFIO, village driver (baritone)
LOLA, his wife (mezzo-soprano)
Duration: Easter holiday late XIX century.
Setting: a village in Sicily.
First performance: Rome, Teatro Costanzi, May 17, 1890.
The name "Cavalleria rusticana" is usually translated as "Rural Honor". This is the irony of fate, because there is no honor in the behavior of most of the characters in the opera. As for the novella by Giovanni Verga, it describes the behavior of the heroes even more barbaric than what we encounter in Mascagni’s opera.
Open, from enormous power expressed all-consuming passion - these are the qualities of the opera that immediately brought it incredible success. Of course, the literary merits of the libretto are also significant. Verga's novella was considered a small literary masterpiece. In addition, E. Duse, this brilliant actress, together with other actors, performed the dramatic version of this short story on stage with great success even before the opera was written. "Rural Honor" was the first and perhaps the most significant triumph in both literature and music of a movement called verismo, "a theory," to quote Webster, "which in art and literature placed the image at the forefront. everyday life, psychological experiences of the characters, attention to dark sides lives of the urban and rural poor."
This small work was the first of three that received a prize in a competition announced by the publisher E. Sonzoño, and it overnight glorified no one at that time. famous composer, who was only twenty-seven years old. Even in New York there was a struggle for the right to have the first production of the opera. Oscar Hammerstein a few years before he built his big Manhattan opera house, paid $3,000 just to beat out his rival producer Aronson, who held a so-called "public rehearsal" of the piece on October 1, 1891. Hammerstein's performance took place that same evening. All this happened less than a year and a half after the Rome premiere. But by this time all of Italy had already heard it. In addition, it has already been shown in Stockholm, Madrid, Budapest, Hamburg, Prague, Buenos Aires, Moscow, Vienna, Bucharest, Philadelphia, Rio de Janeiro, Copenhagen and Chicago (in that chronological sequence, in which these cities are named).
For more than half a century, Mascagni lived off the fame and income from the productions of this little masterpiece. None of his other operas (and he wrote fourteen more) had a success that could even remotely compare with the success of Rustic Honour, but even so he died in 1945 in full glory and honor.
Prelude
This story takes place in a Sicilian village at the end of the 19th century on Easter Sunday, so the prelude begins with calm music, like a prayer. Soon it becomes more dramatic, and in the middle the voice of a tenor is heard singing behind the still lowered curtain. This is his love serenade "Siciliana". Tenor - recently returned to native village soldier. He serenades his lover, Lola.
The curtain rises and the viewer sees a square in one of the towns of Sicily. In the back to the right is the church. Lucia's house is visible to the left. Bright Easter Sunday. At first the stage is empty. It's dawning. Peasants, peasant women, and children pass through the stage. The doors of the church open and the crowd enters. The peasant girl Santuzza asks old Lucia about her son Turiddu - because the way he behaves lately, she really doesn't like it. The conversation between the two women is interrupted by the arrival of Alfio, an energetic young carter who sings a cheerful song about his life, while striking his whip (“II cavallo scalpita” - “The horse rushes like a whirlwind”). Little does he know that Turiddu is spending time with his lovely wife Lola. His brief conversation with Lucia, in which he casually mentions that he saw her son not far from his, Alfio’s, house, instills even more suspicion in Santuzza.
The sounds of an organ can be heard from the church. The choir sings behind the stage. All the villagers kneel, and together with Santuzza, who sings a magnificent solo, they offer a prayer - Regina coeli (Latin - “Queen of Heaven”). A religious procession enters the church, followed by the villagers. Santuzza, however, detains Lucia to tell her about his sadness. In the aria “Voi lo sapete, mamma...” (“You know, mother, that even before Turiddu was a soldier, he wanted to call Lola his wife”) she talks about how Turiddu, before joining the army, promised to marry Lola, but when he returned, she was married to someone else, and then he confessed his love to Santuzza, but now he was again inflamed with passion for Lola. Lucia is very upset, she sympathizes with Santuzza, but cannot help her. Lucia enters the church. Now, when Turiddu himself appears, Santuzza addresses him directly. He makes unconvincing apologies and becomes especially irritated when they are interrupted by the woman they were fighting about. Lola, very nicely dressed, appears on the way to church; she hums a coquettishly graceful love song “Fior di giaggiolo” (“Flower, flower!”). When she leaves, the quarrel between Santuzza and Turiddu plays out again with even greater force. Finally, all this becomes unbearable for Turiddu. In a fit of irritation, he pushes Santuzza away and she falls to the ground. Turiddu rushes after Lola to the church. Santuzza shouts a curse after him: “A te la mala Pasqua, spergiuro!” (“You will perish today on this bright holiday!”)
Alfio is the last to go to the church. Santuzza also stops him and tells him about his wife's infidelity. Santuzza's sincerity leaves him in no doubt that she is telling the truth. Alfio’s anger is terrible: “Vendetta avro priache tramonti il di” (“I will take revenge today!”), the driver swears, leaving the young peasant woman. Santuzza, now full of remorse for what she has done, rushes after him.
The stage is empty. The orchestra performs a wonderful intermezzo: it conveys the tranquility of a picture of peaceful, gentle nature. This mood creates a sharp contrast to the rapid development of deadly passions.
The Easter service is over, and the peasants fill the street in front of Turiddu's house in a noisy crowd. He invites everyone to have a drink with him and sings a sharply rhythmic drinking song. Alfio enters. He is in a menacing mood. Turiddu fills a glass for him, he wants to clink glasses with it. Alfio refuses to drink with him. Turiddu breaks the glass. Some women, after consulting with each other, approach Lola and quietly persuade her to leave. Two men stand opposite each other. Following an ancient Sicilian custom, the dishonored husband and rival embrace, and Turiddu bites Alfio's right ear - a sign of a challenge to a duel. Turiddu says that he will wait for Alfio in the garden. Now it’s Turiddu’s turn to feel remorse. He calls his mother and makes her promise that he will take care of Santuzza. He is the culprit of all the misadventures and now vows to marry her if...
Full of gloomy forebodings, Turiddu retires to the outskirts, where Alfio is already waiting for him. Santuzza, overcome with horror, remains silent. Time drags on agonizingly. And here's a terrible one female voice breaks through the oppressive silence: “Hanno ammazzato compare Turiddu!” (“They stabbed Turidda to death now!”). Alfio won the duel... Santuzza and Lucia faint. Women support them. Everyone is deeply shocked.
Henry W. Simon (translated by A. Maikapara)
Characters:
HISTORY OF CREATION
The reason for composing the work was a competition of one-act operas announced by the Milanese publisher E. Sonzogno. To participate in it, he interrupted work on the opera “Ratcliffe” and turned to the plot of “Rural Honor,” which had long attracted his attention. The short story by the Italian writer Giovanni Verga (1840-1922) “Honor Rusticana,” published in 1889, gained fame thanks to the dramatization, which featured the brilliant performer of the title role, E. Duse. The play was distinguished by its maximum concentration of action and plot. Its events unfold within one morning, which, undoubtedly, was especially attractive to the composer.
The libretto, written by G. Tardgioni-Tozetti (1859-1934) with the participation of G. Menashi, was initially two-act, but, according to the terms of the competition, it was reduced to one act. The central place in the opera was occupied by the images of the main characters, outlined with spare, well-aimed strokes: the infinitely devoted, frantic in love Santuzza and the frivolous, flighty Lola; passionate, addicted Turiddu and mercilessly vengeful Alfio. Folk scenes are noticeably developed. The two acts of the drama are connected in the opera by a symphonic intermezzo, which subsequently gained wide popularity.
Out of 70 operas submitted to the competition, “Rural Honor” won first prize. On May 17, 1890, the premiere took place in Rome and was a triumphant success. Soon the opera was performed in many countries around the world, helping to spread the principles of verism.
PLOT
It's getting light. Peasants are walking through the village square to the church. Among them is Santuzza, hurrying to old Lucia, the mother of her groom. She is in despair - Turiddu is once again seized by passion for his former lover, the flirtatious Lola, who, during his brief military service became the wife of the rich Alfio. All of Lucia's attempts to calm Santuzza are in vain; she is tormented by the pangs of jealousy. Turiddu appears in the square. Santuzza turns to him with a plea not to leave her. But Turidda is not moved by her words. He roughly pushes the girl away and quickly leaves after Lola, who is heading to the church. Returns to the village from long trip unsuspecting Alfio. Santuzza, distraught with grief, tells him about his wife’s infidelity. Soon she begins to regret the words that came out in a fit of despair, but it’s too late. The offended Alfio decided to brutally punish the offender who had tarnished the honor of his family. After graduation church service villagers gather in the tavern. The joyful celebration is disrupted by the appearance of Alfio. He contemptuously pushes away the cup of wine offered to him by Turiddu. Now Turiddu has no doubt that Alfio knows about his secret relationship with Lola. A duel to the death with an opponent is inevitable. As a sign of challenge, Turiddu, according to the ancient custom, bites Alfio on the right ear during an embrace. The choice has been made, the enemies will meet outside the village. Turiddu says goodbye to his mother. He is overcome by belated repentance towards the faithful Santuzza. He asks his mother to take care of her. Filled with gloomy forebodings, Turiddu leaves. Frightened, Lucia and Santuzza fall to each other. The voices of peasant women carry the news of the death of Turiddu. Lucia and Santuzza fall unconscious into the women's arms.
MUSIC
The music of "Rural Honor" is full of flexible, passionate cantilena, close to folk songs. Its emotional contrasts enhance the severity of the plot: violent passions are replaced by a state of spiritual detachment, the dramatic clash of human characters is opposed by the calmness of spring nature.
In the orchestral introduction, serene pastoral images and contemplative moods are vividly highlighted by a lyrically excited melody. Behind the curtain sounds the Sicilian Turiddu “O Lola, creature of the sultry night” (middle section of the introduction); its slow melody, accompanied by guitar accompaniment, is full of sensual languor and bliss.
The choral introduction “Fruits are showing off on the trees lushly” conveys the upbeat atmosphere of the holiday. Alfio’s colorfully orchestrated song with the choir “Horses Are Flying Madly” is imbued with proud prowess. The chorus “Sing the Song of Triumph” with its enlightened, sublime moods sharply contrasts with the drama of the next scene. Santuzza’s elegiacally sad romance “Going into the Distance as a Soldier” has a touch of ballad storytelling. The duet between Santuzza and Turiddu juxtaposes intensely passionate and mournfully enlightened melodies. The duet is interrupted by Lola’s flirtatiously graceful song “Flower of Mirror Waters.” Throughout the duet, sweeping melodies sound with increasing excitement. The drama reaches its peak in the duet of Santuzza and Alfio. The symphonic intermezzo brings relaxation; its serene calm evokes pictures of peaceful, gentle nature. Turiddu’s sharply rhythmic drinking song “Hello, the gold of the glass” splashes with sparkling fun. It contrasts with Turiddu’s arioso “I repent of my guilt,” full of deep sorrow; a plastic vocal melody is accompanied by a melodious cantilena of strings. The last arioso of Turiddu “Mother Santa...” is permeated with a feeling of passionate entreaty, conveying the utmost tension of mental strength.
Melodrama in one act by Pietro Mascagni; libretto by G. Tardgioni-Tozzetti and G. Menashi based on the short story of the same name by G. Verga.
First production: Rome, Teatro Costanzi, May 17, 1890.
Characters: Santuzza (soprano), Lola (mezzo-soprano), Turrida (tenor), Alfio (baritone), Lucia (contralto), peasants and peasant women.
The action takes place in the square of one of the villages of Sicily at the end of the 19th century.
Behind the stage, the voice of Turiddu is heard singing Lola Siciliana. People enter the church: today is Easter. The choir glorifies nature and love (“Gli aranci olezzano”; “The fruits on the trees show off lushly”). Santuzza enters the tavern of Lucia, Turiddu's mother, to find out something about her lover, who has been avoiding her lately. The driver Alfio, Lola’s husband (“Il cavallo scalpita”; “The horses are flying madly”) appears; he casually mentions that he saw Turidda in the morning near his house. I can hear holiday choir(“Inneggiamo al Signore risorto”; “Sing the song of triumph”).
Santuzza confesses his sadness to Lucia: Turiddu was Lola’s fiancé before serving in the army, but she did not wait for him and married Alfio. Turiddu seemed to have forgotten his youthful passion, having fallen in love with Santuzza, but now Lola again attracts him to her (“Voi lo sapete, o mamma”; “Going into the distance as a soldier”). Left alone in the square with Turiddu, Santuzza accuses him of infidelity. Lola passes by, defiantly singing a song (“Fior di giaggialo”; “Flower of mirror waters”). Turiddu, in a rage pushing aside Santuzza, who curses him, enters the church. Santuzza tells Alfio everything. He becomes furious and decides to take revenge (“Ad essi non perdono”; “They have no forgiveness”).
The action is interrupted by an interlude. Turiddu then invites everyone to have a drink (song with chorus "Viva il vino spumeggiante"; "Hello, gold of the glass") and praises Lola's beauty. Alfio contemptuously rejects his invitation to join the feast. The rivals, according to the ancient custom, hug, challenging each other to a duel, while Turiddu bites Alfio's ear. Feeling sorry for Santuzza, Turiddu asks her mother to take care of her and leaves. Some time later, women are heard screaming: “Turiddu has been killed.”
G. Marchesi (translated by E. Greceanii)
RURAL HONOR (Cavalleria rusticana) - opera by P. Mascagni in 1 act, libretto by G. Tardgioni-Tozetti and G. Menashi based on the short story and play of the same name by G. Verga. Premiere: Rome, Teatro Constanzi, May 17, 1890 (G. Bellincioni - Santuzza).
The short story by G. Verga, which was the basis for the libretto, was remade by him into a drama for E. Duse. Mascagni's opera received a prize at a competition organized by the Italian publisher E. Sonzogno (1889). Its established Russian name does not quite accurately convey the meaning of the Italian title, which rather means “Rural Nobility” or “Chivalry.”
The action takes place in a Sicilian village. The young peasant woman Santuzza, seduced and abandoned by Turiddu, tells the carter Alfio that his wife Lola is Turiddu's mistress. The jealous Alfio insults Turidda by biting him on the ear, which, according to Sicilian custom, means a challenge to death. Rivals fight with knives. Turiddu is killed in the duel.
Mascagni's opera is one of the most striking examples of verismo in music. The action develops rapidly and concisely, involving characters unusual for old Italian opera - ordinary people, village residents.
The drama of feelings is expressed by the composer truthfully and powerfully. The combination of a naturalistic and everyday picture of peasant life with music that absorbed the traditions of the old Italian school created a unique effect. Mascagni used Sicilian folklore to convey the flavor of the environment. The whole drama unfolds against the backdrop of a vividly painted picture of rural life. The symphonic intermezzo, separating the finale from the preceding action, creates a time perspective. The drama of the music, its melodiousness, and the freshness of its colors determined the life's destiny of the opera. It was first shown in Russia in 1891 in Moscow by an Italian troupe and almost immediately on the Russian stage in Yekaterinburg by the Musical Circle (conductor G. Svechin). On the professional Russian stage, “Rural Honor” was first performed in the 1892/93 season in Kazan by V. Petrovsky’s repertoire, and then staged in 1892 at the Moscow Shelaputin Theater; On January 18, 1894, the premiere took place at the Mariinsky Theater (with the participation of Medea and Nikolai Figner, M. Slavina and A. Chernov), and on September 21, 1903 - at the Moscow New Theater. Last production in Bolshoi Theater dates back to 1985. “Honor Rusticana”, like “Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo, does not leave the world stage; its main roles were performed by major artists - E. Caruso, B. Gigli, G. di Stefano, F. Corelli, G. Anselmi, R. Panerai, G. Simionato, Z. Sotkilava, et al.
In 1982, the opera was filmed (directed by F. Zeffirelli; P. Domingo - Turiddu, E. Obraztsova - Santuzza).
Mascagni. "Rural honor". Intermezzo (conductor - T. Serafin)
An opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni with a libretto (in Italian) by Guido Menasci and Giovanni Tardgioni-Tozzetti, based on the play by Giovanni Verga, which, in turn, is a dramatization of his short story of the same name.
CHARACTERS:
SANTUZZA, a young peasant woman (soprano) TURIDDU, a young soldier (tenor) LUCIA, his mother (contralto) ALFIO, a village carter (baritone) LOLA, his wife (mezzo-soprano)
Time period: Easter at the end of the 19th century. Setting: a village in Sicily. First performance: Rome, Teatro Costanzi, 17 May 1890.
The name "Cavalleria rusticana" is usually translated as "Rural Honor". This is the irony of fate, because there is no honor in the behavior of most of the characters in the opera. As for the novella by Giovanni Verga, it describes the behavior of the heroes even more barbaric than what we encounter in Mascagni’s opera.
An all-consuming passion expressed openly and with enormous force - these are the qualities of the opera that immediately brought it incredible success. Of course, the literary merits of the libretto are also significant. Verga's novella was considered a small literary masterpiece. In addition, E. Duse, this brilliant actress, together with other actors, performed the dramatic version of this short story on stage with great success even before the opera was written. "Rural Honor" was the first and perhaps the most significant triumph in both literature and music of a movement called verismo, "a theory," to quote Webster, "which in art and literature emphasized the depiction of everyday everyday life, the psychological experiences of the characters, attention to the dark sides of the life of the urban and rural poor.”
This small work was the first of three to receive a prize in a competition announced by the publisher E. Sonzoño, and it overnight glorified the then unknown composer, who was only twenty-seven years old. Even in New York there was a struggle for the right to have the first production of the opera. Oscar Hammerstein, a few years before he built his great Manhattan Opera House, paid $3,000 just to beat out his rival producer Aronson, who held a so-called "public rehearsal" of the work on October 1, 1891. Hammerstein's performance took place that same evening. All this happened less than a year and a half after the Rome premiere. But by this time all of Italy had already heard it. In addition, it has already been shown in Stockholm, Madrid, Budapest, Hamburg, Prague, Buenos Aires, Moscow, Vienna, Bucharest, Philadelphia, Rio de Janeiro, Copenhagen and Chicago (in the chronological order in which these cities are named) .
For more than half a century, Mascagni lived off the fame and income from the production of this little masterpiece. None of his other operas (and he wrote fourteen more) had a success that could even remotely compare with the success of "Rural Honor", but even so he died in 1945 in full glory and honor.