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
Idloes Owen Wales Theatre, Cardiff. Owen as Musical Director conducted the first performance, "Cavalleria rusticana", which included the Welsh tenor Robert Tear who started his career as a schoolboy in this performance. In 1948 the Welsh National Opera became a limited company and established another centre in Swansea. In 1951 the company made its first tour of Wales. In January 1950 Idloes Owen invited an astute businessman Bill Smith a former secretary of the defunct Cardiff Grand Opera to be his partner to develop the potential of the new company. Smith immediately responded by booking the young Charles Mackerras as conductor to