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
Robin Donald Robin Donald Donald Robin (Smith) (born 26 March 1942) is an Australian operatic tenor who was known professionally as 'Robin Donald'. He is the son of arguably Australia's greatest operatic tenor voice Donald Smith . Robin performed leading operatic tenor roles, including Rudolfo in La Bohème, Turridu in Cavalleria Rusticana, in many major opera houses throughout Britain, including the Sadler's Wells Opera Company Theatre and the London Coliseum Theatre, Europe (Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie), Australia (Sydney Opera House), and in Christchurch New Zealand, where he sang Florestan in the opera "Fidelio" for the New Zealand Broadcasting Commission, during a