Mascagni here shows a
natural instinct for the theatre. His method is often coarse, but his
effects rarely miss their mark. At its production 'Cavalleria' was
absurdly overpraised, but it certainly is a work of promise.
Unfortunately the promise so far has not been fulfilled. 'L'Amico Fritz'
and 'I Rantzau,' two adaptations of novels by Erckmann-Chatrian,
produced respectively in 1891 and 1892, have almost disappeared from the
current repertory. The first is a delicate little story of an old
bachelor's love for a pretty country girl, the second a village 'Romeo
and Juliet,' showing how an internecine feud between two brothers is
ended by the mutual love of their children. Mascagni's melodramatic
style was ill suited to idylls of this kind. He drowned the pretty
little stories in oceans of perfervid orchestration, and banged all the
sentiment out of them with drums and cymbals. Yet, in the midst of the
desert of coarseness and vulgarity came oases of delicate fancy and
imagination. The 'Cherry Duet' in 'L'Amico Fritz,' and the _Cicaleccio_
chorus in 'I Rantzau,' are models of refinement and finish, which are
doubly delightful by reason of their incongruous environment.
Unfortunately such gems as these only make the coarseness of their
setting the more conspicuous, and on the whole the sooner the world
forgets about 'L'Amico Fritz' and 'I Rantzau' the better it will be for
Mascagni's reputation.
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