Italian opera revisited, history was retold and imagination was stimulated. The strength of it fell into a more violent era for opera: verismo, with "Cavalleria rusticana" by Pietro Mascagni and "Pagliacci" by Ruggero Leoncavallo. Some of the greatest Italian operas of the 20th century were written by Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924). These include "Manon Lescaut", "La bohème", "Tosca", "Madama Butterfly", "La fanciulla del West", "La rondine" and "Turandot", the last two being left unfinished. In 1926 and in 2002 Franco Alfano and Luciano Berio respectively attempted a completion of "Turandot", and in 1994 Lorenzo Ferrero completed the orchestration of the third version of
Giacomo Puccini Alberto Franchetti (1860–1942). Only three composers, and three works, by Italian contemporaries of Puccini appear on the Operabase list of most-performed works: "Cavalleria rusticana" by Mascagni, "Pagliacci" by Ruggero Leoncavallo, and "Andrea Chénier" by Umberto Giordano. Kobbé contrasted Puccini's ability to achieve "sustained" success with the failure of Mascagni and Leoncavallo to produce more than merely "one sensationally successful short opera." By the time of Puccini's death in 1924, he had earned $4 million from his works. Although the popular success of Puccini's work is undeniable, and his mastery of the craft of composition has been consistently recognized, opinion among