L'amico Fritz L'amico Fritz L'amico Fritz () is an opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni, premiered in 1891 from a libretto by P. Suardon (Nicola Daspuro) (with additions by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti), based on the French novel "L'ami Fritz" by Émile Erckmann and Pierre-Alexandre Chatrian. While the opera enjoyed some success in its day and is probably Mascagni's most famous work after "Cavalleria rusticana", today it is performed far more rarely than "Cavalleria", which remains Mascagni's only enduringly popular work in America (though in Italy, "L'amico Fritz" and "Iris" are still in the active repertoire). The "Cherry Duet" between Fritz and Suzel
Viorica Cortez at Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo, in the famed production of Robert Carsen. The performances were highly acclaimed by the press. Later on, she was to debut with Teatro del Maggio in Florence ("Cavalleria rusticana"). In 2009, Viorica Cortez starred in the creation of a new opera ("Une affaire etrangere") in Montpellier. Cortez is scheduled to return on stage in "Cavalleria Rusticana" for the 2010-2011 season of the Marseille Opera. "Carmen du siecle" - this is what the French press was headlining in the 1970s. Without any doubt, Cortez was one of the most sought-after Carmens of the 1970s and '80s.