Cavalleria rusticana libretto, sending it to Mascagni in fragments, sometimes only a few verses at a time on the back of a postcard. The opera was finally submitted on the last day that entries would be accepted. In all, 73 operas were submitted, and on 5 March 1890, the judges selected the final three: Niccola Spinelli's "Labilia", Vincenzo Ferroni's "Rudello", and Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana". There have been two other operas based on Verga's story. The first, "Mala Pasqua!" (Bad Easter!) by Stanislao Gastaldon, was entered in the same competition as Mascagni's. However, Gastaldon withdrew it when he received an opportunity to have
John Keyes (tenor) "Otello", Samson in "Samson et Dalila", Tristan in "Tristan und Isolde", Turridu in "Cavalleria Rusticana", Walther in "Tannhäuser", and the title roles in "Don Carlos", "Lohengrin", Verdi's "Otello", "Parsifal", and "Siegfried". He is also active as a concert soloist, and is particularly known for his performances of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9". John Keyes (tenor) John Keyes is an American operatic tenor who specializes in the dramatic repertoire. After studies in Chicago, he apprenticed and performed at both the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Houston Grand Opera during the late 1980s. In 1990 he won an international singing