Zanetto translation by Emilio Praga of François Coppée's play "Le passant" (The passer-by) in which the young Sarah Bernhardt had won fame in the "en travesti" role of Zanetto. "Zanetto" represented a return by Mascagni to the one-act format of his first opera "Cavalleria rusticana", which had premiered in 1890. However, the Renaissance setting of "Zanetto" was a far cry from the gritty contemporary story he used for "Cavalleria rusticana", the work that made him famous. By 1893, Mascagni was simultaneously working on three operas: "Vistilia", based on a novel by Rocco de Zerbi set in ancient Rome; "Guglielmo Ratcliff", which
Cavalleria rusticana (1982 film) Cavalleria rusticana (1982 film) Initially, the Italian television network RAI expressed interest in recording the live opening night double-bill of Franco Zeffirelli's stage productions of "Cavalleria rusticana" and "Pagliacci" at the Teatro alla Scala. However, the director wanted to film the operas like movies instead of live stage productions. Over the course of two days, he filmed both operas on the stage of La Scala without an audience and in segments of ten minutes or less. He later added pick-up shots at a film studio in Milan. He also filmed some on location in Vizzini, Sicily for greater authenticity. Originally