Description
Pietro Mascagni (1863 -1945), an Italian composer, became world-famous with the opera "Cavalleria Rusticana", his first. This opera has easy-listening melodies, which are sung with compassion by "ordinary people", simple villagers. "Cavalleria Rusticana" could be translated as "peasant chivalry". The operas composed afterward did not reach this level and success, much to Mascagni's regret. A "blockbuster" from Cav, as this opera is called by connoisseurs, should not go unmentioned: the world-famous "Intermezzo Sinfonico". The "Opening Chorus" describes the dawn of a special day, Easter Sunday, when church bells call the faithful of a Sicilian village to gather in the churchyard and attend a service. Even without the extensive choir, which Mascagni prescribed in his original score, this work proves to be very effective. Opening Chorus (from Cavalleria Rusticana)