t {38} in vain, till Micaela tells him of
the dying mother, asking incessantly for her son; then at last he
consents to go with her, but not without wild imprecations on his rival
and his faithless love.

In the fourth act we find ourselves in Madrid. There is to be a
bull-fight; Escamillo, its hero, has invited the whole company to be
present in the circus.

Don Jose appears there too, trying for the last time to regain his
bride. Carmen, though warned by a fellow gipsy, Frasquita, knows no
fear. She meets her old lover outside the arena, where he tries hard
to touch her heart. He kneels at her feet, vowing never to forsake her
and to be one of her own people, but Carmen, though wayward, is neither
a coward nor a liar, and boldly declares that her affections are given
to the bull-fighter, whose triumphs are borne to their ears on the
shouts of the multitude. Almost beside himself with love and rage Jose
seizes her hand and attempts to drag her away, but she escapes from
him, and throwing the ring, Jose's gift, at his feet, rushes to the
door of the arena.--He overtakes her however and just as the trumpets
announce Escamillo's victory, in a perfect fury of despair he stabs her
through the heart, and the victorious bull-fighter finds his beautiful
bride a corpse.

{39}

CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA.

(SICILIAN RUSTIC CHIVALRY).

Opera in one act by PIETRO MASCAGNI.

Text after Verga's drama of the same name by TARGIONI-TOZZETTI and
MENASCI.

The composer of this very brief opera is a young man, who has had a
most adventurous life notwithstanding his youth. Son of a baker in
Livorno, he was destined for the bar. But his love for music made him
enter clandestinely into the Institute Luigi Cherubini, founded by
Alfreddo Soffredini. When his father heard of this, he confined him in
his chamber, until Pietro's uncle, Steffano, promised to care for him
in future. Pietro now was enabled to study diligently. He composed at
the age of 13 years a small Opera "In filanda", which was put on the
stage by Soffredini. Another composition, on Schiller's poem "An die
Freude" (To Joy), brought him money and Count Larderell's favor, who
allowed him to study at his expense at the Conservatory at Milan. But
Mascagni's ambition suffered no restraint, so he suddenly disappeared
from Milan and turned up as musical Director of a wandering troupe. In
Naples he grew ill, a young lady nursed him, both fell in love and she
b