Pietro Mascagni was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music. While it was often held that Mascagni, like Ruggero Leoncavallo, was a "one-opera man" who could never repeat his first success, L'amico Fritz and Iris have remained in the repertoire in Europe since their premieres.
Mascagni in 1903
Mascagni in c. 1890
Amica poster, 1905, showing Geraldine Farrar who performed the title role in the Monte Carlo premiere.
Mascagni caricatured in Vanity Fair, 1912
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another.
Macbeth at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in St. Olaf's Castle, Savonlinna, Finland, in 2007
La Scala of Milan
Palais Garnier of the Paris Opéra
Berlin State Opera