Productions

Composer of Cavalleria Rusticana Pietro Mascagni
Composer of Gianni Schicchi Giacomo Puccini
Librettist of Gianni Schicchi Giovacchino Forzano
Conductor Marcello Mottadelli
Director Giandomenico Vaccari
Set designer Marina Conti
Costumes by Sartoria Teatrale Bianchi
Light designer Michele Rombolini
Orchestra and Chorus of the Goldoni Theatre of Livorno
Chorus Master Maurizio Preziosi
Children's Choir of the Goldoni Theatre of Livorno
Chorus Master Laura Brioli
Cast of Cavalleria Rusticana Donata D’Annunzio Lombardi / Tso Hanying, Paolo Lardizzone / Michael Spadaccini, Massimo Cavalletti / Daniele Terenzi, Lucia Valentina Pernozzoli, Mariangela Zito
Cast of Gianni Schicchi Massimo Cavalletti / Daniele Terenzi, Simona Pia Ritoli / Celeste Nardi, Valentina Pernozzoli / Mariangela Zito, Ding Yu, Pedro Pires, Omar Falaschi / Sara Moschini, Sara Fogagnolo / Mary Rosada, Marcandrea Mingioni, Bozhidar Bozhkilov, Hitoshi Fujiyama, Federica Venturi / Judith Duerr, Pinellino Arsène Min Kuang, Michele Pierleoni, Pavel Morgunov

While Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi are often performed together on the same evening, these two operas actually represent different facets of Italian opera tradition. Both are relatively short, one-act operas, and combining them creates a theatrical experience of a suitable length for the audience. Additionally, the realistic intensity and tragic ending of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana find balance in the lightness and happy resolution of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi.

Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana tells a tale of jealousy, betrayal, and a blood feud in a Sicilian village.

Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi is about a wealthy man who bequeaths his earthly possessions to a monastery, leaving his relatives empty-handed. This opera in the opera buffa style is full of comical situations, wit, and virtuosic arias, the most famous of which is Lauretta’s aria (O mio babbino caro).