This is the most successful opera composed by Mascagni, which overshadowed all the fifteen other operas that he had produced. It took him two months to create it and this was in order to participate in a competition sponsored by a music publisher back in 1889. But when the time came to submit it, he feared failure and put the scores back in the drawer. He was lucky that his wife found them and sent them off to the competition, where the piece was voted the winner.
The story of the opera takes place in a village Sicily on an Easter morning and has everything of an Italian melodrama: love, cheating, duel and death. Turiddu, son of the tavern owner Mamma Lucia, has returned from military service to find his fiancée, Lola, married to a prosperous wagon owner, Alfio. As revenge against Lola’s betrayal, Turiddu seduced Santuzza, hoping to make Lola jealous. As a result, Lola took up with Turiddu again, in an adulterous affair, leaving Santuzza heartbroken. Alfio learned about this affair by Santuzza and swore revenge; he invited Turridu to a duel after Easter mass, where Turridu was killed.
The opera describes an ambience of Southern Italy where codes of honour and chivalry were deeply rooted in societies and death was the only punishment for a disgrace, explaining the title “Cavalleria Rusticana” which means “Rustic Chivalry” in English. The music has become very popular because it combines both dramatic and lyrical melodies.