Pagliacci Italian premiere, and it was given in New York on 15 June 1893, with Agostino Montegriffo as Canio. Around 1890, when Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana" premiered, Leoncavallo was a little-known composer. After seeing Mascagni's success, he decided to write an opera in response: one act composed in the verismo style. Leoncavallo wrote that he based the story of "Pagliacci" on an incident from his childhood: a murder in 1865, the victim of which was a Leoncavallo family servant, Gaetano Scavello. The murderer was Gaetano D'Alessandro, with his brother Luigi an accomplice to the crime. The incident resulted from a series
Audrey Babcock Audrey Babcock Audrey Babcock is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer who has performed in many opera houses throughout the world. She performed the Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana at the Washington Concert Opera. Babcock sang the role of Maddalena in Verdi's "Rigoletto" for Boston Lyric Opera in March 2014. She sang in the first professional staging of Daniel Crozier's opera "With Blood, With Ink" in April 2014 at the Fort Worth Opera. Babcock has frequently performed the title role in Bizet's opera "Carmen", notably in 2008 at the San Antonio Opera, 2009 at the Utah Festival Opera, and in 2012 at