Verismo (music) of the poor, that had not generally been seen as a fit subject for literature. A short story by Verga called "Cavalleria rusticana" (), then developed into a play by the same author, became the source for what is usually considered to be the first "verismo" opera: "Cavalleria rusticana" by Mascagni, which premiered on 17 May 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. Thus begun, the operatic genre of "verismo" produced a handful of notable works such as "Pagliacci", which premiered at Teatro Dal Verme in Milan on 21 May 1892, and Puccini's "Tosca" (premiering at the Teatro Costanzi in
Seymour Schwartzman he would reprise in 1969 for San Francisco Opera and in 1971 for Connecticut Opera. Schwartzman had also appeared at San Francisco Opera as Giorgio Germont in "La traviata" (1967), Tonio in "Pagliacci" (1967), and Rigoletto (1968). Although he primarily performed at New York City Opera, Schwartzman also made regular appearances with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company between 1969 and 1973, singing Alfio in "Cavalleria rusticana", Valentin in "Faust", David in "L'Amico Fritz", Sharpless in "Madame Butterfly", High Priest of Dagon in "Samson et Dalila", and Giorgio Germont in "La traviata". His performances with other opera companies included the Grand