FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) 1. Why is Mascagni's music so
neglected today? Mascagni was once considered the "foremost
living composer of opera". Around the turn of the 20th century,
he was second to none in popularity and fame. How has his
artistic output been, for all intents and purposes, reduced to
Cavalleria rusticana? There is probably no single answer to this
question. Here are a few Mascagni's tenor and soprano parts are
very demanding. It is difficult nowadays to find tenors able to
sing Guglielmo Ratcliff, Osaka, Florindo, Folco, Ugo, or Il
piccolo Marat, among others. After the fall of the Fascist
government in Italy near the end of World War II, artists
involved with the Fascist movement were largely ostracized, and
Mascagni was no exception. Only his greatest popular success
escaped the ban on his operas. The reality is that Mascagni's
involvement with Fascism was largely ornamental and
opportunistic. There is in particular no evidence that he was an
anti-semite. On the contrary, he once aske