Cavalleria rusticana on stage. They were invited to submit a one-act opera which would be judged by a jury of five prominent Italian critics and composers. The best three would be staged in Rome at Sonzogno's expense. Mascagni heard about the competition only two months before the closing date and asked his friend Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, a poet and professor of literature at the Italian Royal Naval Academy in Livorno, to provide a libretto. Targioni-Tozzetti chose "Cavalleria rusticana", a popular short story (and play) by Giovanni Verga, as the basis for the opera. He and his colleague Guido Menasci set about composing the
Edinburgh Opera Company Edinburgh Opera Company "Not to be confused with Edinburgh Grand Opera". Edinburgh Opera Company was an opera company which existed in Edinburgh during the 20th century from around 1919 until the 1970s. It performed in theatres such as The Gateway Theatre, the Royal Lyceum Theatre and the King's Theatre, Edinburgh. One of its soloists was Canadian tenor Emanual Christian Hedmont who also produced Edinburgh Opera Company’s shows in 1922 at the King’s Theatre and at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in 1923. Performances included "Cavalleria Rusticana", "Daughter of the Regiment", "Il trovatore" (King's Theatre 1922); Verdi's "Ernani "(Royal Lyceum Theatre 14,