Franco Alfano Domingo in the title role. In 1921, "La Leggenda di Sakùntala" appeared, described by some as his most important stage work, and while it was successful enough to have Arturo Toscanini recommend Alfano for the completion of Puccini's posthumous Turandot, the performance materials were thought destroyed in an air raid during the Second World War. Alfano reconstructed it in 1952 as "Sakùntala", after "Abhijñānaśākuntalam" ("The Recognition of Sakuntala"), the Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa. Subsequently, the original version was recovered in 2005, with the two versions available for performance today. The second version of Sakùntala was performed in New York City
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