Domenico Monleone Domenico Monleone Domenico Monleone (January 4, 1875 – 15 January 1942) was an Italian composer of operas, most noted for his opera "Cavalleria rusticana" of 1907, which for a while rivalled the success of Mascagni's work of the same name which was from the same source. The work was the third opera to be based on Verga’s 1884 theatrical adaptation of his own short story, "Cavalleria rusticana", Stanislao Gastaldon’s "Mala Pasqua" (1888) being the first, and Mascagni's famous opera (1890) being the second. Mascagni and his lawyers intervened and Monleone changed the opera ‘beyond recognition’ setting the music to a
Edmonton Opera with them. After a number of successful productions, the group changed its name to the Edmonton Professional Opera Association, with David Ker as the first president and Letourneau as the music director. "Professional" was dropped from the company’s name in August 1966, as the then-artistic director, Irving Guttman, argued that it should be obvious to all if a company is professional. The first season, 1963/64, featured two productions: "Madama Butterfly" in October 1963, and "Cavalleria Rusticana" and "Pagliacci" in April 1964. In 1966, Letourneau convinced Guttman, then at the Vancouver Opera, to come to Edmonton. The artistic director from 1966