Cavalleria rusticana (Full Score, hardback)

Mascagni Cavalleria rusticana (Full Score, hardback)

The premiere of Pietro Mascagni’s “Cavalleria rusticana” in May of 1890 is a landmark in the history of opera.  It was an enormous success, ostensibly marking the beginning of operatic verismo, and it was also praised for re-energising a tradition the Italians felt had been languishing for some time. Mascagni composed the work as an entry for the second competition for a new one-act opera sponsored by the Milanese publisher Edoardo Sonzogno in 1888.

This history is well known, as is the fact that Mascagni made substantial cuts to his opera while it was being prepared for performance at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome.  The reasons for these cuts are manifold.  They appear in every number except for the Preludio and the Intermezzo and fall into three categories: those tightening the tempi, those reducing the more demanding chorus’ parts, and those accommodating transpositions requested at the last minute by the protagonist singers Gemma Bellincioni and Roberto Stagno.  All cuts are included in the appendix of “Cavalleria rusticana”, the second volume of the series “Masterpieces of Italian Opera.” (MIO)

- New scholarly-critical edition

- Includes many new findings: a valuable source for performance and scholarly research

- Including all cuts in the appendix

- Series Masterpieces of Italian Opera

- Format  33,0 x 26,5 cm

- Performance material available for hire (BA07649-72)