Pietro Mascagni
Encyclopedia
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
most noted for his opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the Verismo
Verismo
Verismo was an Italian literary movement which peaked between approximately 1875 and the early 1900s....
movement in Italian dramatic music. Though it has been stated that Mascagni, like Leoncavallo
Ruggero Leoncavallo
Ruggero Leoncavallo was an Italian opera composer. His two-act work Pagliacci remains one of the most popular works in the repertory, appearing as number 20 on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.-Biography:...
, was a "one-opera man" who could never repeat his first success, this is inaccurate. L'amico Fritz
L'amico Fritz
L'amico Fritz is an opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni, premiered in 1891 from a libretto by P. Suardon , based on the French novel L'ami Fritz by Émile Erckmann and Pierre-Alexandre Chatrian.While the opera enjoyed some success in its day and is probably Mascagni's most famous work after...
and Iris
Iris (opera)
Iris is an opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni to an original Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. Its first performance was at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 22 November 1898.The opera is through-composed and set in Japan during legendary times...
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).
Mascagni wrote fifteen operas, an operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
, several orchestral and vocal works, as well as songs and piano music. He enjoyed immense success during his lifetime, both as a composer and conductor of his own and other people's music. If he never repeated the international success of Cavalleria, it was probably because Mascagni refused to copy himself. The variety of styles in his operas — the Sicilian passion and warmth of Cavalleria, the exotic flavor of Iris, the idyllic breeze that ventilates the charming L'amico Fritz and Lodoletta, the Gallic chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro in art is "an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted"....
of Isabeau, the steely, Veristic power of Il piccolo Marat, the overripe postromanticism of the lush Parisina — demonstrate a versatility that surpasses even that of Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
.
Early life
Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni was born in LivornoLivorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
, Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, the second son of Domenico and Emilia Mascagni. The father was the owner of a bakery. Mascagni's lifelong friend and collaborator, Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti
Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti
Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti was an Italian librettist, best known for his friendship and collaboration with the composer Pietro Mascagni...
("Nanni") was born the same year in the same city.
In 1876, he began musical studies with Alfredo Soffredini, who founded the Instituto Musicale di Livorno (later called Istituto Cherubini) after having just completed his musical studies in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. Also from Livorno, Soffredini was a composer, teacher and musical critic.
In 1879, he composed several works: Sinfonia in do minore, Elegia, Kyrie, Gloria and Ave Maria.
1880-1889
The premiere of Mascagni's first cantata, In Filanda, took place at the Istituto Cherubini on February 9, 1881. The cantata was presented at a musical contest in Milan and won the first prize. In the same year Mascagni met Arrigo BoitoArrigo Boito
Arrigo Boito , aka Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito, pseudonym Tobia Gorrio, was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist and composer, best known today for his libretti, especially those for Giuseppe Verdi's operas Otello and Falstaff, and his own opera Mefistofele...
and Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli was an Italian composer, largely of operas.-Biography:Born in Paderno Fasolaro, now Paderno Ponchielli, near Cremona, Ponchielli won a scholarship at the age of nine to study music at the Milan Conservatory, writing his first symphony by the time he was ten years old.Two years...
in Milan.
In 1882, he composed his Cantata alla gioia from a text by Schiller, La stella di Garibaldi for voice and piano and La tua stella. On May 6, Mascagni left Livorno for Milan. He passed the admission examination of the Milan Conservatory
Milan Conservatory
The Milan Conservatory 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 premises in the cloisters of the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Passione. There were initially 18 boarders,...
on October 12. In Milan, Mascagni met Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
.
On January 9, 1883, Mascagni's sister, Maria, died. The cantata In Filanda became Pinotta, and was proposed for the musical contest of the Conservatorio, but the registration, being late, was not accepted.
In 1884, he composed Ballata for tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
; M'ama non m'ama, scherzo
Scherzo
A scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or...
for soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
and piano; Messagio d'amore, and Alla luna.
In 1885, Mascagni composed Il Re a Napoli in Cremona, romance for tenor and orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, on a text by Andrea Maffei
Andrea Maffei
Andrea Maffei was an Italian poet, translator and librettist.-Life:Maffei was born in Molina di Ledro, Trentino.A follower of Vincenzo Monti, he formed part of the 19th century Italian classicist literary culture. Gaining laurea in jurisprudence, he moved for some years to Verona, then to Venice...
. He left Milan without completing his studies. He toured as conductor in the operetta companies of Vittorio Forlì, Alfonso and Ciro Scognamiglio, and in Genova, the company of Luigi Arnaldo Vassallo.
Mascagni met the impresario Luigi Maresca in 1886. That December, Mascagni arrived in Cerignola with Maresca's company. He was accompanied by Argenide Marcellina Carbognani (Lina), his future wife. Helped by the mayor Giuseppe Cannone, Mascagni soon left the company of Maresca, not without problems, and became master of music and singing of the new philharmonia of Cerignola, where he earned a lot of esteem. He also gave piano lessons.
In February 1888, work on the Messa di Gloria started. In July, Casa Sonzogno announced in the Teatro Illustrato its second competition for a one-act opera.
Pietro and Lina were married on February 3, 1889. The next day Domenico Mascagni ("Mimì") was born. The composition of Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
was completed on May 27 and the manuscript sent to Milan.
1890-1899
On February 21, 1890, Mascagni was summoned to Rome to present his opera. The première of Cavalleria rusticana, winner of the Sonzogno contest, was held May 17 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. The success was outstanding, and very soon the opera was performed in FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
. In December, Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
conducted the opera in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. Soon thereafter, the cities of Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, St. Petersburg, Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
welcomed the opera. In March 1891, it was sung in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. At age 26, Mascagni had become famous overnight. In the meantime (January 3) his second son, Dino, was born. He was followed by a daughter, Emi, in 1892.
L'amico Fritz
L'amico Fritz
L'amico Fritz is an opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni, premiered in 1891 from a libretto by P. Suardon , based on the French novel L'ami Fritz by Émile Erckmann and Pierre-Alexandre Chatrian.While the opera enjoyed some success in its day and is probably Mascagni's most famous work after...
, Mascagni's second most successful opera, was premiered October 31 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. I Rantzau
I Rantzau
I Rantzau is an opera in four acts by Pietro Mascagni , based on a libretto by Guido Menasci and Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, based on the play Les Rantzau by French writers Erckmann and Chatrian, after their novel Les Deux Frères .It was first performed at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence,...
was premiered November 10 at the Teatro La Pergola, in Florence, under the direction of the composer himself.
Next Mascagni's opera was the Silvano
Silvano
Silvano is a dramma marinaresco or opera in two acts by Pietro Mascagni, 1895, from a libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, based on a novel by Alphonse Karr....
(1894). On February 16, 1895 Guglielmo Ratcliff
Guglielmo Ratcliff
Guglielmo Ratcliff is a tragic opera in four acts by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Andrea Maffei, translated from the German play Wilhelm Ratcliff by Heinrich Heine...
was premiered at the Teatro alla Scala of Milan. On March 15, Silvano was premiered at the Teatro alla Scala of Milan. Mascagni in the same year accepted the directorship of the Liceo Rossini
Conservatorio Statale di Musica "Gioachino Rossini"
The Conservatorio Statale di Musica "Gioachino Rossini" is a music conservatory in Pesaro, Italy. Founded in 1869 with a legacy from the composer Gioachino Rossini, the conservatory officially opened in 1882 with 67 students and was then known as the Liceo musicale Rossini...
in Pesaro
Pesaro
Pesaro is a town and comune in the Italian region of the Marche, capital of the Pesaro e Urbino province, on the Adriatic. According to the 2007 census, its population was 92,206....
.
On March 2, 1896, Mascagni conducted the première of Zanetto
Zanetto
Zanetto is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci. It received its first performance on 2 March 1896 at the Liceo Musicale Rossini in Pesaro. Only 40 minutes long and with cast of two singers, Zanetto was originally described by...
at the Liceo.
On June 29, 1898 in Recanati
Recanati
Recanati is a town and comune in the Province of Macerata, Marche region of Italy. Recanati was founded around 1150 AD from three pre-existing castles. In 1290 it proclaimed itself an independent republic and, in the 15th century, was famous for its international fair...
, Mascagni conducted the première of a symphonic poem, A Giacomo Leopardi. Iris
Iris (opera)
Iris is an opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni to an original Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. Its first performance was at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 22 November 1898.The opera is through-composed and set in Japan during legendary times...
, Mascagni's first collaboration with Luigi Illica
Luigi Illica
Luigi Illica was an Italian librettist who wrote for Giacomo Puccini , Alfredo Catalani, Umberto Giordano, Baron Alberto Franchetti and other important Italian composers. His most famous opera librettos are those for La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Andrea Chénier.Illica was born at...
was premiered on November 22 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome.
Mascagni's father died in May 1899.
1900-1909
On January 17, 1901, Le maschere
Le maschere
Le maschere is an opera in a Prologue and three acts by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica.The work was Mascagni's homage to Rossini and to the Italian opera buffa and commedia dell'arte traditions...
was premiered in six Italian theaters. Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
died on January 27 and the following month Mascagni commemorated Verdi's passing. That same year, he conducted Verdi's Requiem
Requiem (Verdi)
The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass for four soloists, double choir and orchestra. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist much admired by Verdi. The first performance in San Marco in Milan on 22 May...
in Vienna.
Mascagni composed the incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
for Hall Caine
Hall Caine
Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE , usually known as Hall Caine, was a Manx author. He is best known as a novelist and playwright of the late Victorian and the Edwardian eras. In his time he was exceedingly popular, and at the peak of his success his novels outsold those of his...
's play, The Eternal City
The Eternal City
The Eternal City is a nickname for the city of Rome.The Eternal City may also refer to:* The city of Kyoto, Japan, specifically the historical Heian-kyō, dubbed Yorozuyo no Miya *The Eternal City, a 1901 novel by Hall Caine...
in August 1902; the première of the play with Mascagni's music took place in London on October 2.
In 1902 and 1903, he toured in Canada and in the United States, (in particular Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and San Francisco), where he conducted many of his and other composers' works. The tour was mostly a fiasco, except for the visit to San Francisco where Mascagni was extremely well received.
In 1903, Mascagni left Pesaro after problems with the authorities. He became director of the Scuola Musicale Romana, in Rome. In the same year he signed a contract with the French editor Choudens.
Amica
Amica (opera)
Amica is an opera in two acts by Pietro Mascagni, originally composed to a libretto by Paul Bérel . The only opera by Mascagni with a French libretto, it was an immediate success with both the audience and the critics on its opening night at the Théâtre du Casino in Monte-Carlo on 16 March 1905....
, with libretto by Choudens, was premiered on March 16, 1905, in Monte-Carlo. That year, he had disputes with Ruggero Leoncavallo
Ruggero Leoncavallo
Ruggero Leoncavallo was an Italian opera composer. His two-act work Pagliacci remains one of the most popular works in the repertory, appearing as number 20 on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.-Biography:...
and Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
. He also had the Livornese première of Le maschere.
Mascagni was director of the Costanzi for the season beginning in August 1909.
1910-1919
On April 4, 1910, Mascagni began a relationship with Anna Lolli. In October he was reconciled with Puccini.Mascagni ceased his activity as director of the Scuola Musicale Romana in 1911. That May, he left for Buenos Aires, beginning a seven-month tour in South America. The première of Isabeau
Isabeau
Isabeau is a leggenda drammatica or opera in three parts by Pietro Mascagni, 1911, from an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. Mascagni conducted its first performance on June 2, 1911 at the Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires....
took place in Buenos Aires on June 2.
The Italian première of Isabeau was held simultaneously at La Scala in Milan (conductor Tullio Serafin
Tullio Serafin
-Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...
) and at La Fenice
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
(conductor Mascagni) in 1912. On March 28, he began to work on Parisina
Parisina (Mascagni)
Parisina is a tragedia lirica, or opera, in four acts by Pietro Mascagni. Gabriele D'Annunzio wrote the Italian libretto after Byron's poem Parisina .It was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on December 15, 1913....
in , near Paris, sometimes with his daughter Emi, his mistress Anna Lolli, and the librettist Gabriele d'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio or d'Annunzio was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, and dramatist...
.
Parisina was premiered in Milan on December 15 of that year. Almost all the important Italian composers of the time were present, among them Puccini, Umberto Giordano
Umberto Giordano
Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano was an Italian composer, mainly of operas.He was born in Foggia in Puglia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples...
and Riccardo Zandonai
Riccardo Zandonai
Riccardo Zandonai was an Italian composer.-Biography:Zandonai was born in Borgo Sacco, Rovereto, then part of Austria–Hungary....
. The new work was premiered in Livorno and Rome in 1914. On July 28 occurred the events that shortly led to World War I: Puccini and Mascagni were against the involvement of Italy in this war, where Mascagni's son Dino was later made a prisoner.
In 1915 Mascagni wrote music for Nino Oxilia's movie Rapsodia Satanica; the custom was for silent films to be accompanied live in a theater by organ, piano, or an orchestra, often using a prepared score (sometimes with original music) with cues for the conductor or musician. Mascagni had a quarrel regarding the rights of Louise de la Ramée's Two Little Wooden Shoes (I due Zoccoletti), that inspired both Puccini and Mascagni. The subject was retained by Mascagni for Lodoletta
Lodoletta
Lodoletta is a dramma lirico or lyric opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni . The libretto is by Giovacchino Forzano, and is based on the novel Two Little Wooden Shoes by Marie Louise de la Ramée, ....
. The latter opera was premiered on April 30, 1917 in Rome. The Livornese première of the opera was on July 28 with Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism...
as Flammen.
Sì, Mascagni's operetta, was premiered on December 13 in Rome.
1920-1939
In 1920 Mascagni composed Il piccolo MaratIl piccolo Marat
Il piccolo Marat is a dramma lirico or opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni, 1921, from a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano.-Performance history:...
, which was premiered in Rome on May 2, 1921, following by a premiere in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
in September. The composer returned to South America for a tour beginning in May 1922.
In 1923, he composed Visione Lirica. He moved to the Albergo Plaza in Rome in 1927, a place he would not leave until his death.
In 1930, Mascagni conducted La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
in Torre del Lago
Torre del Lago
Torre del Lago is a town of almost 11,000 inhabitants, a frazione of the comune of Viareggio, in the province of Lucca, Tuscany, Italy, between the Lake of Massaciuccoli and the Tyrrhenian Sea....
, as a homage to Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
, who had died in 1924. In 1931, Le maschere was performed at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
.
Pinotta
Pinotta
Pinotta is an idillio or opera in 2 acts by Pietro Mascagni from an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti. The opera received its first performance on March 23, 1932 at the Teatro del Casinò in San Remo....
was premiered in San Remo
Sanremo
Sanremo or San Remo is a city with about 57,000 inhabitants on the Mediterranean coast of western Liguria in north-western Italy. Founded in Roman times, the city is best known as a tourist destination on the Italian Riviera. It hosts numerous cultural events, such as the Sanremo Music Festival...
on March 23, 1932. He joined the PNF (Fascist party), following the example of many contemporary musicians, including Giordano.
Nerone was premièred in Milan on January 16, 1935, followed by the première in Livorno on August 24.
In June 1936, Mascagni's son died in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
.
Last years
In 1942, after an audience with Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
, newspapers quoted Mascagni, a Roman Catholic, as saying that his tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
-stricken niece was cured after receiving a rosary and silver medal blessed by the pope.
In April 1943, Mascagni appeared for the last time at La Scala to conduct L'amico Fritz. By that time he had to conduct sitting on a chair. The last season of Mascagni at the Rome Opera
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat Costanzi Theatre, it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements...
(Cavalleria rusticana and L'amico Fritz) was 1944–45.
Mascagni died on August 2, 1945 in his apartment at the Hotel Plaza di Roma. The funeral ceremony was August 4. The Italian authorities were not present. In 1951, the mortal remains of Mascagni were transferred from Rome to Livorno, where finally Mascagni received an official homage.
Operas
- Cavalleria rusticanaCavalleria rusticanaCavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
(17 May 1890 Teatro Costanzi, Rome) - libretto, libretto - L'amico FritzL'amico FritzL'amico Fritz is an opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni, premiered in 1891 from a libretto by P. Suardon , based on the French novel L'ami Fritz by Émile Erckmann and Pierre-Alexandre Chatrian.While the opera enjoyed some success in its day and is probably Mascagni's most famous work after...
(31 October 1891 Teatro Costanzi, Rome) - libretto - I RantzauI RantzauI Rantzau is an opera in four acts by Pietro Mascagni , based on a libretto by Guido Menasci and Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, based on the play Les Rantzau by French writers Erckmann and Chatrian, after their novel Les Deux Frères .It was first performed at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence,...
(10 November 1892 Teatro La Pergola, Florence) - Guglielmo RatcliffGuglielmo RatcliffGuglielmo Ratcliff is a tragic opera in four acts by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Andrea Maffei, translated from the German play Wilhelm Ratcliff by Heinrich Heine...
(16 February 1895 Teatro alla Scala, Milan), composed between 1885 and the early 1890s - libretto - SilvanoSilvanoSilvano is a dramma marinaresco or opera in two acts by Pietro Mascagni, 1895, from a libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, based on a novel by Alphonse Karr....
(25 March 1895 Teatro alla Scala, Milan) - ZanettoZanettoZanetto is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci. It received its first performance on 2 March 1896 at the Liceo Musicale Rossini in Pesaro. Only 40 minutes long and with cast of two singers, Zanetto was originally described by...
(2 March 1896 Liceo Musicale, Pesaro) - libretto - IrisIris (opera)Iris is an opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni to an original Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. Its first performance was at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 22 November 1898.The opera is through-composed and set in Japan during legendary times...
(22 November 1898 Teatro Costanzi, Rome) - libretto - Le maschereLe maschereLe maschere is an opera in a Prologue and three acts by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica.The work was Mascagni's homage to Rossini and to the Italian opera buffa and commedia dell'arte traditions...
(17 January 1901 Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa - Teatro Regio, Turin - Teatro alla Scala, Milan - Teatro La Fenice, Venice - Teatro Filarmonico, Verona - Teatro Costanzi, Rome) - AmicaAmica (opera)Amica is an opera in two acts by Pietro Mascagni, originally composed to a libretto by Paul Bérel . The only opera by Mascagni with a French libretto, it was an immediate success with both the audience and the critics on its opening night at the Théâtre du Casino in Monte-Carlo on 16 March 1905....
(16 March 1905, Monte Carlo, in French) - Italian libretto - IsabeauIsabeauIsabeau is a leggenda drammatica or opera in three parts by Pietro Mascagni, 1911, from an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. Mascagni conducted its first performance on June 2, 1911 at the Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires....
(2 June 1911 Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires) - ParisinaParisina (Mascagni)Parisina is a tragedia lirica, or opera, in four acts by Pietro Mascagni. Gabriele D'Annunzio wrote the Italian libretto after Byron's poem Parisina .It was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on December 15, 1913....
(15 December 1913 Teatro alla Scala, Milan) - libretto - LodolettaLodolettaLodoletta is a dramma lirico or lyric opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni . The libretto is by Giovacchino Forzano, and is based on the novel Two Little Wooden Shoes by Marie Louise de la Ramée, ....
(30 April 1917 Teatro Costanzi, Rome) - libretto - Il piccolo MaratIl piccolo MaratIl piccolo Marat is a dramma lirico or opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni, 1921, from a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano.-Performance history:...
(2 May 1921 Teatro Costanzi, Rome) - PinottaPinottaPinotta is an idillio or opera in 2 acts by Pietro Mascagni from an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti. The opera received its first performance on March 23, 1932 at the Teatro del Casinò in San Remo....
(23 March 1932 Casinò, San Remo), adapted from the cantataCantataA cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
In filanda (1881) - Nerone (16 January 1935 Teatro alla Scala, Milan), with music written between the 1890s and the 1930s
Orchestral music
- A Giacomo Leopardi, cantataCantataA cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
for voice (sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
) and orchestra (June 19, 1898, Teatro Persiani, Recanati) - Il re a Napoli, romanzaRomanza-Commercial performance:First in Europe, then charts around the world, the album amassed a multitude of platinum and multi-platinum awards, outselling even Bocelli's 1995 album, Bocelli, with worldwide sales in excess of 20 million copies to date....
for tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
and orchestra (18 March 1885 Teatro Municipale, Cremona)
Projects contemplated
During his long career, Mascagni contemplated writing many operas. The following is an incomplete list of such projects, which never saw the light of day:- Zilia, probably on a libretto by Felice Romani (c. 1877)
- Scampolo, probably on a libretto by Dario Niccodemi (c. 1921)
- I Bianchi ed i Neri, on a libretto by Mario Ghisalberti (c. 1938)
Cutural references
The 1980 film Raging Bull prominently features the following music: the Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticanaCavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
, the Barcarolle
Barcarolle
A barcarole is a folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers, or a piece of music composed in that style...
from Silvano
Silvano
Silvano is a dramma marinaresco or opera in two acts by Pietro Mascagni, 1895, from a libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, based on a novel by Alphonse Karr....
, and the Intermezzo from Guglielmo Ratcliff
Guglielmo Ratcliff
Guglielmo Ratcliff is a tragic opera in four acts by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Andrea Maffei, translated from the German play Wilhelm Ratcliff by Heinrich Heine...
(known as Il sogno di Ratcliff).
The 1990 film The Godfather Part III
The Godfather Part III
The Godfather Part III is a 1990 American gangster film written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, and directed by Coppola. It completes the story of Michael Corleone, a Mafia kingpin who tries to legitimize his criminal empire...
used a production of Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
at the Teatro Massimo
Teatro Massimo
The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house and opera company located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily. It was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II....
to set its climax, with Michael Corleone
Michael Corleone
Michael Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novels, The Godfather and The Sicilian. He is also the main character of the Godfather film trilogy that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in which he was portrayed by Al Pacino, who was twice nominated for an Academy Award for his...
's son Anthony
Anthony Corleone
Anthony "Tony" Vito Corleone is a fictional character in The Godfather trilogy of films directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He is portrayed by Anthony Gounaris in the first film, James Gounaris in the second, and singer Franc D'Ambrosio in the third...
as Turiddu. The movie ends with the Intermezzo playing.
In 2000, electronic musician William Orbit
William Orbit
William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...
included a modern, electronic orchestration of an excerpt from Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
on his album Pieces in a Modern Style
Pieces in a Modern Style
Pieces in a Modern Style is the sixth album by electronic instrumentalist William Orbit. He is credited as arranger, programmer, producer, and performer of the album. Released in 2000 by WEA and Warner Music UK in Europe and Maverick Records in the United States, it was responsible for...
.
Sources
- English web site about Pietro Mascagni
- Official Italian web site about Pietro Mascagni
- Buoso Donati, "Mascagni and Mussolini" Bibliography.
- Opera at Stanford University
External links
- Mascagni cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization ProjectCylinder Preservation and Digitization ProjectThe Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara Libraries with streaming and downloadable versions of over 10,000 phonograph cylinders manufactured between 1893 and the mid 1920s.- History :The project began...
at the University of California, Santa BarbaraUniversity of California, Santa BarbaraThe University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
Library.