Cavaleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry), an Italian opera by Pietro Mascagni. Opera plot summary, character list, and other Mascagni opera information.

Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) by Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945), a tragic one-act Italian opera composed in 1890. Like Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana also cultivated a new style in the late 19th-century Italian literary movement called verismo, meaning 'realism' or 'truthful.'

• Libretto: Giovanni Targioni-Tozzeti and Guido Menasci. Based on the play by Giovanni Verga.
• First Performance: Rome, Teatro Costanzi, May 17, 1890
• Setting: A village in Sicily

Cavalleria Rusticana Background

The opera depicts life in a Sicilian village where love, betrayal and integrity come about. The mood is set with a chorus and an Easter hymn, together with arias and duets that drive the tragic drama. Santuzza's "Voi lo sapete, o mamma" is a best-known solo. Cavalleria Rusticana include the passionate devotional hymn "Easter Chorus" and "Peasants' Chorus."

Placido Domingo, one of the Three Tenors, played the role of Turiddu in a 1976 San Francisco Opera production.

The main Characters in Cavalleria Rusticana:

• Santuzza, a peasant girl (dramatic soprano)
• Turiddu, a peasant (Tenor)
• Mamma Lucia, his mother (contralto or mezzo)
• Alfio, a carter (Baritone)
• Lola, his wife (Messo-soprano)

Plot Summary of Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana:

Act 1

It's Easter morning in a Sicilian village

Offstage, Turiddu sings that he would love his sweetheart even if it destroyed him.

The villagers come out of church, singing of spring and love. Santuzza asks Mamma Lucia where she can find Turiddu. Mamma Lucia says he is away. When Mamma Lucia relents and asks Santuzza into her house, Santuzza says she cannot enter because she is a sinner and an outcast. Mamma Lucia asks if Turiddu is in trouble.

Alfio, the carter arrives, interrupting the conversation between Mamma Lucia and Santuzza. Mamma Lucia learns from him that Turiddu is still in town. She voices surprise, but Santuzza hushes her as the congregation in church are heard singing the "Regina coeli." The villagers pray and return to church.

Santuzza explains to Mamma Lucia that Turiddu loved Lola but returned from the army only to find her married to Alfio. Trying to forget his pain, Turiddu turned to Santuzza. Things were okay a while until Lola decides to win Turiddu back. When Lola became his mistress, he neglected Santuzza.

Turiddu arrives and Santuzza warns him that Alfio knows of his affair. She vents her anger on Lola, asking after Alfio. When Lola acts surprised that they are not in church, Santuzza tells her that only those who have not sinned should go to mass. Lola says she has not sinned and goes in. Turriddu assures Santuzza that there's nothing really between him and Lola, but then he pushes her away when he sees Lola.

Santuzza curses Turiddu, intercepts Alfio on his way to church and tells him of Lola's betrayal and infidelity. When Alfio swears revenge, Santuzza is stricken with guilt. After the church service, Alfio challenges Turiddu to a duel in a Sicilian manner. Turiddu admits his guilt to Alfio and wonders what will happen to his mother Lucia if he dies. Turiddu asks his care and leaves.

A woman in the distance is heard screaming that Turiddu has been killed. The villagers rush in. Santuzza and Mamma Lucia faints. The curtain closes.

Other Operas by Pietro Mascagni:

• L'amico Fritz (Friend Fritz) 1891
• Iris 1898
• Nerone (Nero) 1934

Sources:

Opera, Dorling Kindersley (DK) Eyewitness Companions (2006)

The Da Capo Opera Manual by Nicholas Ivor Martin (1997)

The Harrap Opera Guide by Sir Alexander Morley (1970)