Zanetto translation by Emilio Praga of François Coppée's play "Le passant" (The passer-by) in which the young Sarah Bernhardt had won fame in the "en travesti" role of Zanetto. "Zanetto" represented a return by Mascagni to the one-act format of his first opera "Cavalleria rusticana", which had premiered in 1890. However, the Renaissance setting of "Zanetto" was a far cry from the gritty contemporary story he used for "Cavalleria rusticana", the work that made him famous. By 1893, Mascagni was simultaneously working on three operas: "Vistilia", based on a novel by Rocco de Zerbi set in ancient Rome; "Guglielmo Ratcliff", which
Amica (opera) from "Cavalleria rusticana", the work then fell into obscurity. One of its few revivals in modern times was on 4 August 2007 at the Festival della Valle d'Itria, using the original French libretto. (It has been released on CD and DVD. See below.). In October 2008, Opera di Roma used the Italian libretto for a new production of "Amica" in collaboration with Opéra de Monte-Carlo and the Teatro Carlo Goldoni in Livorno. Set in the mountains of Savoy around 1900, "Amica" is a classic verismo drama. It recounts a domestic tragedy involving two brothers (Giorgio and Renaldo) and the woman