Književni verizam u italijanskoj jednočinki Kavalerija Rustikana
Literary Verismo in an Italian One-Act Play Cavalleria Rusticana

Summary/Abstract: This paper will show the significant influence of the literary work of the Cavalleria rusticana by the Italian representative of verismo, Giovanni Verga from the second half of the 19th century, on the emergence of the libretto of the opera with the same name by Pietro Mascagni several years later. In order to comprehend the reasons for the extraordinary popularity of this opera, whose success does not lessen even nowadays, we have analysed the literary source from which it originated, the motives for its emergence and the differences and similarities between Mascagni's libretto and Verga's novella. Upon presenting verismo and its influence on the development of literature and opera of the 19th century in Italy, we have reviewed the influence of the opera critics of that time who were the cause for live discussions and frequent polemics in literary and lyrical circles despite the undoubtedly positive echo of the then opera audience. Using contrastive analysis of semantic-syntactic structures of key parts of the novella and libretto, we have pointed out the similarities and differences between these two works of art. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the significance and influence of the elements of verismo in Mascagni's one-act play, as well as the way he brought them closer to the audience to the extent it ensured long-lasting success of Verga's novella.

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