Cavalleria rusticana on stage. They were invited to submit a one-act opera which would be judged by a jury of five prominent Italian critics and composers. The best three would be staged in Rome at Sonzogno's expense. Mascagni heard about the competition only two months before the closing date and asked his friend Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, a poet and professor of literature at the Italian Royal Naval Academy in Livorno, to provide a libretto. Targioni-Tozzetti chose "Cavalleria rusticana", a popular short story (and play) by Giovanni Verga, as the basis for the opera. He and his colleague Guido Menasci set about composing the
Vyacheslav Polozov "Cavalleria rusticana" opposite Makvala Kasrashvili and Elena Obraztsova. In 1983, he made his debut in the role of Faust at the Lithuanian National Opera opposite and Irena Milkeviciute. In 1984, he made debut for the role of the Duke of Mantua at the Bulgarian National Opera and Lensky at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. In 1984, he performed the role of Alfredo at the Estonian National Opera and Latvian National Opera. In January 1986, another great success followed - Polozov's debut at the Teatro alla Scala in Milano where he sang the role of Pinkerton, which very soon became,