Mala vita is an opera in three acts composed by Umberto Giordano to a libretto by Nicola Daspuro adapted from Salvatore Di Giacomo and Goffredo Cognetti's verismo play of the same name. Giordano's first full-length opera, Mala vita premiered on 21 February 1892 at the Teatro Argentina. It was subsequently performed in Naples, Vienna, Berlin and Milan, and various Italian cities over the next two years. In 1897 a considerably re-worked and revised version under the title Il voto premiered in Milan. Within a few years, both versions had disappeared from the repertoire. Amongst its rare modern revivals was the 2002 performance at the Teatro Umberto Giordano in Foggia which was recorded live and released on the Bongiovanni label.
Stage scene from Act 1 of the April 1892 performance at the Teatro San Carlo
Salvatore Di Giacomo, on whose play and short story the libretto was based
Gemma Bellincioni, who created the role of Cristina, and sang it in most of the opera's performances between 1892 and 1893
Poster advertising a 1902 performance of Il voto, the revised version of Mala vita
Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano was an Italian composer, mainly of operas. His best-known work in that genre was Andrea Chénier (1896).
Umberto Giordano (1896) by Gaetano Esposito
Umberto Giordano, 1905
