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
Chelsea Opera and received critical acclaim from "Opera News": the operas "had great appeal both to old opera hands and to first-time operagoers." Each season now includes multiple offerings within its concert series, "Chelsea Opera presents…", a series of thematic concerts featuring the company’s principal singers and guest artists, whose number now exceeds 400 who have performed principal roles, sung in the ensemble, been involved in design/production, and played in the Chelsea Opera Chamber Orchestra (“COCO”). Chelsea Opera’s performances to date have included "Suor Angelica", "Amahl and the Night Visitors" (also given an encore presentation in November 2009), "Cavalleria Rusticana", "Pagliacci", "Don