Bringing together a vast amount of information on Pietro Mascagni and his works, this volume in the Greenwood Press series Bio-Bibliographies in Music includes a catalogue of the composer's works and performances, bibliography, discography, and brief biographical sketch. Mascagni is best known for Cavalleria Rusticana, but he wrote fifteen other stage works and over 100 other compositions, including sacred music, songs and film scores. Overshadowed by his contemporary Puccini and tainted by association with the fascist regime of Mussolini, Mascagni is both a famous and neglected opera composer. This volume charts the decline in performances of Mascagni's operas other than Cavalleria Rusticana and reveals a growing interest in and changing attitude toward the composer. The discography includes more than 2,500 recordings, and the annotated bibliography includes 361 titles.
This research tool will appeal to Mascagni and to opera scholars. Each section is cross-referenced throughout. An appendix includes a chronology of Mascagni's conducting career.