Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945); ITA

Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945) was an Italian composer and conductor born in Livorno. He studied at the Milan Conservatory but left before completing his course, working as a conductor with touring opera companies and later as a music teacher in Cerignola. His international breakthrough came in 1890 when his one-act opera Cavalleria rusticana won the Sonzogno competition and became an immediate worldwide success. Mascagni subsequently enjoyed a long career as both composer and conductor.

Cavalleria rusticana, with its concentrated drama and vivid depiction of ordinary Sicilian life, became a defining work of Italian verismo and permanently established Mascagni’s reputation. His other operas include L’amico Fritz, Iris, Guglielmo Ratcliff, Isabeau, Parisina, and Il piccolo Marat. Although none rivaled the extraordinary popularity of his first success, they reveal a broader and more varied theatrical imagination than his identification with a single opera sometimes suggests.

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Read biography at allmusic.com.