Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni)
Columbia Operatic Series Album (OP-7)
January 4-11, 1930
Santuzza - Giannina Arangi Lombardi Turiddu - Antonio Melandri Lucia - Ida Mannarini Alfio - Gino Lulli Lola - Maria Castagna Chorus of La Scala Theatre, Milan (Directed by Vittore Veneziani) Lorenzo Molajoli conducting The La Scala Chorus and Orchestra, Milan (Sung in Italian)
Since the beginning of the recording industry it had long been an elusive dream to record entire Classical works on single long-playing records. Seven-inch discs only gave two minutes of sound, ten-inchers three and twelve-inchers four at a speed in the upper 70s-80 RPM. Edison briefly marketed LPs in the late 1920s with very tiny grooves at 80 RPM but they proved a failure. RCA Victor tried a 33-1/3 RPM format in the early 1930's but that too didn't take off. That new speed, however, was used by Columbia to finally launch a lasting product in 1948.

In the meantime, the other answer was to record a long piece on several sides/discs and sell it together in an album. European record companies had already been doing this for awhile while American ones did so sporadically. However, the pre-1925 acoustic method of recording didn't provide the technical quality needed to capture such performances in the way they could be heard satisfactorily. The introduction of mainstream electrical recording in 1925 changed that. Interest in recording complete Classical works spiked and albums, introduced by Victor and Columbia in 1924, really took off in the late 1920s. However as mentioned, they weren't single long-playing records. These albums were usually in book form with each page being a sleeve for the appropriate disc. Printed descriptions were sometimes present too. If the symphony or opera was long enough, two or more "books" were used so a singular one wouldn't be so heavy and easily damaged by its own weight. This arrangement is why later on LPs and CDs were called "albums", even though most of them are singular discs. It was an inherited term.

Columbia launched its operatic line of albums in 1929 and this is an early set (OP-7) recorded the following year. It was issued in 20 parts on ten twelve-inch discs and is the complete opera, though short. It's therefore often performed together in concerts with the equally short "I Pagliacci" in a "Cav/Pag" double-billing for a full-night of opera.
Encoded Speed: 192 Kbps

To listen to all sides consecutively, click HERE.

Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 1: Prelude and Siciliana (Oh Lola, Fair as the Flowers)	Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 2: Prelude (completion)
Milan Symphony Orchestra with Antonio Melandri, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli	Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli
Columbia 67880-D	Columbia 67880-D
Matrix# BX760 4-D-2, Take 4	Matrix# BX767 2-D-1, Take 2
January 9, 1930	January 11, 1930
Milan, Italy	Milan, Italy

Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 3: Gli aranci olezzano (The Air with Scent of Orange Blossoms)	Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 4: Cessin le rustiche opre (Ended Is Rustic Labor)
La Scala Chorus with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli	La Scala Chorus with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli
Columbia 67881-D	Columbia 67881-D
Matrix# BX763 2-D-2, Take 2	Matrix# BX766 1-B-1, Take 1
January 9, 1930	January 10, 1930
Milan, Italy	Milan, Italy

Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 5: Dite, mamma Lucia (Tell Me, Mamma Lucia)	Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 6: Il cavallo scalpita (Proudly Steps the Sturdy Steed)
Giannina Arangi Lombardi and Ida Mannarini with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli	Gino Lulli and Chorus with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli
Columbia 67882-D	Columbia 67882-D
Matrix# BX749 2-D-1, Take 2	Matrix# BX762 2-D-1, Take 2
January 4, 1930	January 9, 1930
Milan, Italy	Milan, Italy
Note: Volume problems on master 0:31-0:35.

Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 7: Beato voi compar Alfio (You Are Much Favored, Friend Alfio)	Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 8: Inneggiam: il Signore e risorto (Let Us Sing of the Lord Ever Living)
Giannina Arangi Lombardi, Gino Lulli, Ida Mannarini and Chorus with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli	Giannina Arangi Lombardi, Ida Mannarini and Chorus with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli
Columbia 67883-D	Columbia 67883-D
Matrix# BX755 2-D-2, Take 2	Matrix# BX761 3-E-B-2, Take 3
January 7, 1930	January 9, 1930
Milan, Italy	Milan, Italy
Note: Stressed loud passages.

Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 9: Perche mi hai fatto cenno di tacere (Why Signal Me for Silence?)	Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 10: Andate o mamma (Go Pray for Me, Good Mother)
Giannina Arangi Lombardi, Ida Mannarini and Chorus with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli	Giannina Arangi Lombardi, Antonio Melandri and Ida Mannarini with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli
Columbia 67884-D	Columbia 67884-D
Matrix# BX752 1-D-1, Take 1	Matrix# BX754 2-D-B-1, Take 2
January 4, 1930	January 6, 1930
Milan, Italy	Milan, Italy
Note: Volume problems from 3:20-3:22.	Note: Hairline cracks near end, not audible.

Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 11: Quella cattiva femmina (That Accursed Woman!)	Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 12: Ah! lo vedi...... (What Foolish Words)
Giannina Arangi Lombardi, Antonio Melandri and Maria Castagna with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli	Giannina Arangi Lombardi and Antonio Melandri with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli
Columbia 67885-D	Columbia 67885-D
Matrix# BX750 1-D-1, Take 1	Matrix# BX751 2-D-1, Take 2
January 4, 1930	January 4, 1930
Milan, Italy	Milan, Italy
	Note: Swish at end.

Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 13: La tua Santuzza (Santuzza Implores Thee)	Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 14: Turiddu mi tolse l'onore (Forsaken Am I)
Giannina Arangi Lombardi, Antonio Melandri and Gino Lulli with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli	Giannina Arangi Lombardi and Gino Lulli with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli
Columbia 67886-D	Columbia 67886-D
Matrix# BX758 2-D-1, Take 2	Matrix# BX759 (2-D-1)?, Take 2?
January 8, 1930	January 8, 1930
Milan, Italy	Milan, Italy

Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 15: Intermezzo	Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 16: A casa, a casa, amici..... (Homeward Now We Go)
Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli	Antonio Melandri, Maria Castagna and Chorus with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli
Columbia 67887-D	Columbia 67887-D
Matrix# BX768 1-E-1 13259, Take 1	Matrix# BX757 2-D-1, Take 2
January 11, 1930	January 7, 1930
Milan, Italy	Milan, Italy
Note: Swish/Surface noise.

Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 17: Brindisi - Intanto amici qua.... (Now Gather Round Me, Friends - "Drinking Song")	Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 18: A voi tutti salute (Greeting to All)
Antonio Melandri, Maria Castagna and Chorus with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli	Antonio Melandri, Gino Lulli, Maria Castagna and Chorus with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli
Columbia 67888-D	Columbia 67888-D
Matrix# BX765 2-D-1, Take 2	Matrix# BX764 1-D-2, Take 1
January 10, 1930	January 10, 1930
Milan, Italy	Milan, Italy
Note: Stressed loud passages.

Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 19: Mamma, quel vino e generoso.... (The Wine Is Strong, Good Mother)	Cavalleria Rusticana: Part 20: Turiddu! Che vuoi dire? (Turiddu, What Are You Saying!)
Antonio Melandri and Ida Mannarini with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli	Giannina Arangi Lombardi, Ida Mannarini and Chorus with Milan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cav. Lorenzo Molajoli
Columbia 67889-D	Columbia 67889-D
Matrix# BX753 1-D-2, Take 1	Matrix# BX756 2-D-1, Take 2
January 6, 1930	January 7, 1930
Milan, Italy	Milan, Italy

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