Great
Classical Music
Composers

Ruggiero LEONCAVALLO

23 April 1857 - 9 August 1919 (age 62)

Portrait by Paul Helm
click on image for more info

Leoncavallo is one of the 'one hit wonders' of the world of opera. His one act opera 'Pagliacci' is consistently in the top 20 of opera performances, usually paired with Mascagni's 'Cavalleria Rusticana'.

Family

Born: 8 March 1857, Naples, Italy
Father: Vincenzo, police magistrate
Mother: Virginia D'Auria from a Neapolitan artistic family
Siblings: 2 brothers - Leone and Gastone
Wife: Marie Bertha Jean Rambaud
Children: none

Works

10 operas including:
- Pagliacci
- I Medici
- La Bohème
- Zazà

vocal works including:
- 10 operettas
- a Requiem
- various songs
some piano works
some orchestral works

Poster from zazzle (click on image)

Quotes

- "When I need the idea, I can find it immediately. I have a horror of rewriting or deleting; the parts of my composition are carried in my head 'till I can write them down, even to the last note. Then I do not alter a jot."

- "This new art made a deep impression on me, and I began to study it ardently."

- “I find it quite impossible to set to music somebody else's words. I do not understand how any really artistic work can be created in that way. With me words and notes are simultaneous; at least, while I am writing the text, the scaffolding, the framework of the music is going up. The phrasing, the elaboration come afterward.”

World's first recording to sell 1 million copies

In 1907 the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso recorded on the Victrola label "Vesti la giubba" from "Pagliacci".

The video below is of the actual record being played.

The photo (courtesy Wikipedia) is of Caruso playing a "Victrola" phonograph.

Leoncavallo on eBay

You will find lots of Leoncavallo related goods on eBay, some new, some used, some common, some rare. Always good for a browse - you never know what you may find!

Leoncavallo on eBay - what's on now