Francesco Cilea Pubblica Istruzione (Department of Education). In 1889, for his final examination at the end of his course of study, he submitted his opera "Gina", with a libretto by Enrico Golisciani which was adapted from the old French play "Catherine, ou La Croix d'or" by Baron Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier de Mélésville (1787—1865). This "melodramma idilico" was performed in the college theatre, and it attracted the attention of the publishers Sonzogno, who arranged for a second production, in Florence, in 1892. Sonzogno also then commissioned from Cilea "La Tilda", a verismo opera in three short acts along the lines of Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana".
Cavalleria rusticana it was presented as "La giostra dei falchi" in 1914. "Cavalleria rusticana" opened on the evening of 17 May 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome to a half empty house. However, the audience included not only the most authoritative music critics in the country but also Queen Margherita, a great music lover. It was a success from its opening notes. Following Stagno's rendition of the Siciliana behind the curtain the audience leaped to their feet with a thunderous applause not heard for many years. The Siciliana was encored as were several other numbers in the opera. It was a