Pietro Mascagni Somalia. In 1940, celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of his most popular opera, "Cavalleria rusticana", took place all over Italy, often with Mascagni conducting. The opera was recorded for "La Voce del padrone" ("His Master's Voice") at La Scala under the direction of Mascagni, who recorded a special spoken introduction. EMI later reissued the recording on LP and CD. In 1942, after an audience with Pope Pius XII, newspapers quoted Mascagni, a Roman Catholic, as saying that his tuberculosis-stricken niece was cured after receiving a rosary and silver medal blessed by the pope. In April 1943, Mascagni appeared for the
Mildred Miller Met was on December 3, 1974 as Lola in "Cavalleria rusticana" with Elinor Ross as Santuzza, Harry Theyard as Turiddu, and John Nelson conducting. While performing at the Met, Miller also appeared as a guest artist on the stages of many opera houses throughout the world. She was a frequent performer at the Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt from 1959-1973. She also made appearances at the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Cincinnati Opera, San Antonio Grand Opera Festival, Pittsburgh Opera, Kansas City Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and Opera Pasadena. She was a busy recitalist as well, appearing in concerts