The French composer Mascagni wrote the opera "Cavalleria Rusticana" for the competition of one-act operas organized in Milan by the publisher Edoardo Sonzogno in 1888.
Learning about the competition very late, Mascagni turned for help to his friend, poet Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti who decided to borrow the plot of the libretto from a novel by Giovanni Verga. Guido Menasci also participated in the reworking of the plot. In March 1890, the decision of the jury was announced, according to which the winners were Niccola Spinelli's "Labilia," Vincenzo Ferroni's  "Rudello," and Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana."
The opera was premiered in Rome on May 17, 1890, and was a great success.

Readings From the Church Fathers

Mkhitar of Sasoun, On the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

The Day in the Liturgical Calendar

Acts 4:32-5:11, Jas. 2:1-13, Jn. 21:1-14

Readings From the Church Fathers

Sargis the Grace-Filled, An excerpt from the Commentary on the Epistle of James (Part II)

The Political Situation in the Period Following the Signing of the Illegal Moscow Treaty

The Day in the Liturgical Calendar

Acts 4:13-31, Jas. 1:13-27, Mt. 5:1-12