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
Metropolitan Opera House (Philadelphia) Academy of Music for the 1920-1921 opera season, the MOH became the home of the Philadelphia Civic Opera Company until 1928. The Philadelphia Grand Opera Company and the Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company, two companies that primarily performed at the Academy of Music, also occasionally performed there during the 1920s and 1930s. The MOH was also host to many traveling productions by opera companies from other cities. The last opera production mounted at the MOH was a double billing of "Cavalleria rusticana" and "Pagliacci" under the baton of Aldo Franchetti, presented by the Chicago Grand Opera Company on May 5,