Pietro Mascagni

Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni (Born December 7, 1863 – August 2, 1945) was an Italian composer most noted for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music. Some critics held that Mascagni, like Leoncavallo, was a "one-opera man" who could never repeat his first success, but L'amico Fritz and Iris have been remained in the repertoire in Europe since their respective premieres. Mascagni said that at one point, Iris was performed in Italy more often than Cavalleria (cf. Stivender).