Romanian National Opera, Cluj-Napoca Pavel as stage director. Famous artists of the early days of the institution include Constantin Pavel, the first director of the institution and the first tenor to sing the Radames role in the Cluj-Napoca Romanian Opera, the Italian conductor Egisto Tango, the composer Tiberiu Brediceanu, the baritone Dimitrie Popovici-Bayreuth. The Romanian Opera managed to establish in a very short period of time a very good and prolific artistic team. In just its first 2 years (1919–1921), it staged 99 performances, including Giuseppe Verdi's "Aida", Charles Gounod's "Faust", de Giacomo Puccini's "Madama Butterfly", Nicolae Bretan's "Luceafărul", Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana", Richard
Cavalleria rusticana had married the carter Alfio while Turiddu was away. In revenge, Turiddu had seduced Santuzza, a young woman in the village. As the opera begins, Lola, overcome by her jealousy of Santuzza, has begun an adulterous affair with Turiddu. "The main square of the village" Offstage, Turiddu is heard singing a siciliana, "O Lola c'hai di latti la cammisa" ("O Lola! like the snow, pure in thy whiteness!"). To one side is the church; to the other is Lucia's wine shop and the house where she lives with her son, Turiddu. The villagers move about the square, singing of the