Rural honor content. The most famous operas in the world: Rural Honor (Cavalleria Rusticana), P

The original name is Cavalleria rusticana.

An opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni with a libretto (in Italian) by Guido Menasci and Giovanni Targioni-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 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, 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 opera that immediately brought her incredible success. Of course, the literary merits of the libretto are also significant. Verga's novella was considered 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 piece was the first of three to receive a prize in a competition announced by the publisher E. Sonzoño, and it brought fame to no one then 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 theatre, paid $3,000 just to beat his rival producer Aronson, who staged 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 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 " Country honor", 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 two women's conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Alfio, an energetic young carter who sings a funny song about his life, striking with a 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 yourself know, mother, that even before Turiddu became 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, little flower!”). When she leaves, the quarrel between Santuzza and Turiddu plays out again with more greater strength. 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 then a terrible 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)

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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.

Characters		Description
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. Chaikovsky. Moreover, Verdi called the composer almost his successor. He was only partly able to justify such flattering expectations of the great maestro - among his subsequent 14 operas were the popular at one time “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” to the traditions of Italian opera, the musician who brought it to new round development, became D. Puccini.
Mascagni is called “one opera man” or “author of one opera.” At the same time, during his lifetime he was ranked among the largest composers in 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 writes 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. Sonzogno and P. Mascagni, who, until 1893, were in court to determine the ownership of the copyright in the opera. Verga eventually sued the publisher and composer for a record sum of 143,000 lire.
In 1940, Mascagni took part in the audio recording of “Rural Honor”, organized in honor of the 50th anniversary of the premiere.
Despite the cliché of verismo appropriated by 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 lifetime, "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 Carbognani, who supported him in difficult moments 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 run her household economically. She was not only 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 other's existence. Many summer seasons Mascagni spent time 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 did not stop the 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 “Honor Rusticana”. 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”).

Mascagni. "Rural honor". Intermezzo (conductor - T. Serafin)

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.

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 life." 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 his rival producer Aronson, who arranged what was called a "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.

With a libretto (in Italian) by Guido Menaschi 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 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.

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 (verism), "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.”

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.

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 is a soldier who recently returned to his native village. He serenades his lover, Lola.

Opera

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 she really doesn’t like the way he’s been behaving lately. 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 yourself know, mother, that even before Turiddu became 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, little 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!”)

Henry W. Simon (translated by A. Maikapara)

The opera “Honor Rusticana”, which won the Sonzonyo publishing competition, was expected to be a truly triumphant success at the premiere: the composer himself was amazed, what happened seemed incredible to him.

He could not believe that he had written such a successful work in just two months, while the more significant, from his point of view, opera “William Ratcliffe” had only recently been completed by him.

Until now, Mascagni’s “Honor Rusticana” enjoys the favor of the public in all theaters around the world, attracting the largest, most famous performers. In the history of Italian opera, “Honor Rusticana” marked the beginning of verismo, a direction that had literary origin(Verga's short stories) and brought into Musical Theatre following the Italian operas of the 70-80s, completely definite features: undisguised passion - with ardent vocal outpourings in the upper register, languid sensitivity, softening traditional recitative with melodic smoothness, direct participation of harmony and instrumental timbre in the outlining and coloring of vocal speech" insufficient variety of forms (in contrast to traditional Italian opera), a clear preference for local regional flavor, stormy, gloomy, cruel stories from the life of the lowest strata of society.

In Mascagni's opera, the story of love and betrayal, crimes against honor unfolds against the background crowd scenes, sacred and folk choral music, here even solo parts approach songs, and gallant romances are based on folk genres. Mascagni's great achievement was that he managed to maintain the freshness of the whole, without deviating from the drama even in decorative episodes - even if they are independent, they constitute a separate performance.

Like in all other operas late XIX century, in "Rural Honor" great attention is given to the description of the landscape and setting, although folklore authenticity is not necessarily respected: we see rather the results of free creativity and imagination.

The opera often combines a certain primitive nakedness of harmony (not always sufficiently refined, it relies on wide, full chords depicting the tension of passion) and, on the contrary, timbral sophistication.

After the very successful Siciliana Turiddu, women glorify blooming nature, and men glorify their beauties: these two themes are of a somewhat archaic nature, written in different sizes, intertwined - light colors, the swaying of flowering branches; from within, the dark sounds of drums and bass create excitement in the blood, as does the theme that soon emerges, marking the appearance of Santuzza. Lola's husband Alfio gives the impression of a self-confident, merry fellow, but cannot hide his changeable, ferocious temper - and around the street the crowd starts dancing in the Spanish spirit. Nothing overshadows the other choir, glorifying the resurrection of Christ - a majestic, multi-stage pyramid, ending with a powerful, enlightened apotheosis.

The drama centers around the three-part story of Santuzza, whose sad, tear-stained face contrasts with the light, joyful picture of the holy holiday. Her conversation with Turiddu is like a hurricane, the words fall on dry, scorched soil, and the curse that breaks out at the sight of Lola singing a languid, tender song takes on an eternal meaning. This scene has a local flavor to it.

Alfio, in turn, bursts into anger - his characteristic rhythms sound, this time frantic. Another knot in the drama is the scene with the drinking song, which precedes the fatal denouement. In the music you can hear the light clink of glasses, the flow of wine and the sound of a simple-minded vocal melody, choral exclamations are like gun shots. The rivals challenge each other to a duel in a laconic dialogue of tragic nobility. Turridou says goodbye to his mother and finally opens his heart to pity: his social face shows itself in the best possible way.

G. Marchesi (translated by E. Greceanii)

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, Mascagni interrupted work on the opera “Ratcliffe” and turned to the plot of “Rural Honor,” which had long attracted his attention. Novella 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. Central location in the opera 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.

Music

The music of "Rural Honor" is full of flexible, passionate cantilena, close to folk songs. Its emotional contrasts enhance the poignancy 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, the Sicilian Turiddu “O Lola, creature of the sultry night” sounds (middle section of the introduction); its slow melody, accompanied guitar accompaniment, 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.

M. Druskin

This opera marked the beginning of a new direction in the art of opera - verismo, becoming one of its best examples. Mascagni in his further creativity never surpassed his first masterpiece (although the idea of him as the author of one opera is incorrect).

In 1891, the work was first performed in Russia (Moscow, Italian Opera Company). The first production on the Russian stage took place in the same year (Ekaterinburg).

In 1982, director Zeffirelli made a film of the same name (starring Obraztsova and Domingo).

Opera is extremely popular these days. Among her best pages arias by Santuzza (“Voi lo sapete, o mamma”), Turiddu (“Mamma, quel vino e generoso”).

Discography: CD - Philips. Dir. Pretre, Santuzza (Obraztsova), Turiddu (Domingo), Alfio (Bruzon), Lola (Gall), Mother Lucia (Barbieri) - Deutsche Grammophon. Dir. Karajan, Santuzza (Cossotto), Turiddu (Bergonzi), Alfio (Guelfi), Lola (Martino), Mother Lucia (Allegri).