Underappreciated Master

Cavalleria Rusticana is the most celebrated masterwork of Pietro Mascagni, one of the innovators of the Verismo school of Operatic thought. Tradition has designated it to be the opening act in the famous Cav/Pag duet, however in my estimation, the duo's finest music is found in this score. The famous Intermezzo is only one example of the langorous passion one can luxuriate in while listening to this opera. The Dover Cav is a reprint of an early Ricordi edition. As far as I'm concerned, when it comes to Italian Romantic Opera, one simply cannot do better, for scholarship purposes, than the early Ricordi scores. Like always, Dover prints on high quality paper, and binds books in such a way that their products could survive any abuse short of a nuclear blast. Also, this score is large enough to conduct from. At Dover's outlandishly low prices, this Cav is a necessity for all Italian Opera lovers.