Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni (; 7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer most noted for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece "Cavalleria Rusticana" caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the "Verismo" movement in Italian dramatic music. While it was often held that Mascagni, like Leoncavallo, was a "one-opera man" who could never repeat his first success, "L'amico Fritz" and "Iris" have remained in the repertoire in Europe (especially Italy) since their premieres. Mascagni said that at one point, "Iris" was performed in Italy more often than "Cavalleria" (cf.
Edmonton Opera with them. After a number of successful productions, the group changed its name to the Edmonton Professional Opera Association, with David Ker as the first president and Letourneau as the music director. "Professional" was dropped from the company’s name in August 1966, as the then-artistic director, Irving Guttman, argued that it should be obvious to all if a company is professional. The first season, 1963/64, featured two productions: "Madama Butterfly" in October 1963, and "Cavalleria Rusticana" and "Pagliacci" in April 1964. In 1966, Letourneau convinced Guttman, then at the Vancouver Opera, to come to Edmonton. The artistic director from 1966