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Mascagni's Zanetto
Posted by Chris Howell on February 11, 2026, 10:17 am
I was pleased to see Ralph Moore extolling the virtues of Zanetto, since I too have a fondness for Mascagni's "other" operas and have suffered much historical sound in an attempt to know them. Ralph wonders "whether this could not be combined with another contrasting or matching short opera to constitute a full evening’s entertainment – perhaps Suor Angelica or Cavalleria?" I seem to have read, but cannot quote chapter and verse, that Mascagni wrote Zanetto in attempt to decouple Cavalleria from Pagliacci but, as in most of his post-Cav endeavours, was unlucky. Antonino Votto did actually give Zanetto and Cav in a double bill at La Scala in 1955 but the experiment was never repeated and Zanetto has not been heard there since. The 1955 performance, with Carteri and Simionato, can be heard on youtube. Brief sampling suggests the sound is as one might fear, though I am prepared to endure much for the adorable Carteri
Re: Mascagni's Zanetto
Posted by Ralph Moore on February 14, 2026, 10:16 am, in reply to "Mascagni's Zanetto"
Thanks for the comments and the additional background, Chris. Let's hope more people try this; I would be interested to hear what they think of it. It's not a masterpiece but I don't think it's worthy of complete neglect.
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I was pleased to see Ralph Moore extolling the virtues of Zanetto, since I too have a fondness for Mascagni's "other" operas and have suffered much historical sound in an attempt to know them. Ralph wonders "whether this could not be combined with another contrasting or matching short opera to constitute a full evening’s entertainment – perhaps Suor Angelica or Cavalleria?" I seem to have read, but cannot quote chapter and verse, that Mascagni wrote Zanetto in attempt to decouple Cavalleria from Pagliacci but, as in most of his post-Cav endeavours, was unlucky. Antonino Votto did actually give Zanetto and Cav in a double bill at La Scala in 1955 but the experiment was never repeated and Zanetto has not been heard there since. The 1955 performance, with Carteri and Simionato, can be heard on youtube. Brief sampling suggests the sound is as one might fear, though I am prepared to endure much for the adorable Carteri
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