Mascagni (center) with his librettists, Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti (left) and Guido Menasci (Image - Wikipedia)
Cavalleria Rusticana, an opera in one act, is one of the world's favourite operas. It was written by Pietro Mascagni (born December 1863 - died August 1945) and was first performed on 17 May 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome.
A tempestuous love story involving an honour killing, set in a small Sicilian town, the opera won the Sonzogno Competition on 5 March 1890, triumphing over 72 other entries to win first place.
It's not widely known that Pietro Mascagni was a dedicated supporter of Benito Mussolini from the early days of the Duce's struggle.
With the death of Puccini in 1924 - barely two years into Mussolini's reign - the 61 year-old Mascagni became Italy's greatest living composer.
Mascagni first secured an audience with Mussolini a few months after the October 1922 'March On Rome' but did not formally join the Fascist Party until 1932. Throughout the 1930's and into the war, he held various posts in the Fascist cultural hierarchy and did much to promote the glory of Italian music. He accepted honours and appointments from the regime to compose and conduct music for official functions, and to appear on the podium in the fascist black shirt.
His long-time loyalty to Mussolini was proven when he joined Mussolini in Nazi occupied northern Italy after the Duce was rescued from imprisonment by SS commandos in 1943.
With the catastrophic end of the war, Mascagni's name was posted on a death-list circulated by the same Communist partisans who murdered the Duce.
In 1945, the Hotel Plaza, which had been his Rome residence for over 20 years, was commandeered by the French. He faced eviction like everyone else until the French realized who it was who lived in the ground floor corner suite. He was the only private citizen allowed to remain in the hotel and was looked after kindly by the French until he died in August of 1945. Though there was no official government recognition or participation, Mascagni's funeral attracted a crowd estimated at over 100,000 people.
The legions of opera-lovers who continue, year after year, to applaud Cavalleria Rusticana are ignorant of the Fascist identity and fate of its composer.
In one of her best live performances, Sarah Brightman sings the Intermezzo from Cavallieria Rusticana
Further reading: Mascagni and Mussolini
