Many, many years ago an opera called Cavalleria Rusticana was composed. It proved, as a vaudevillian would say, an immediate wow. Its Intermezzo, written as a time-filler to cover the distribution and consumption of oranges between the acts, has been scored for every known combination of instruments, including flute and banjo, hand-organ, and the voice of John McCormack.
The young man in the checked Victorian suit who composed Cavalleria followed it up with many others. Practically every one of these was a comparative flop, Pietro Mascagni remains a one-opera man (which, after all, is better than a no-opera man, particularly if the...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
