About the work
Pinotta is an 'idillio' in two acts by Pietro Mascagni to a libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti. Its music derives from two of the composer's early works, the cantata In filanda (1881) and the song La tua stella (1882); only fifty years later did Mascagni rework the long-forgotten score, left in a trunk, for the stage. It premiered on 23 March 1932 at the Teatro del Casinò in Sanremo under his own direction.
Plot
The orphan Pinotta works as a spinner in padrone Andrea's mill and loves the worker Baldo without daring to hope for his affection. When Baldo confesses his love and asks Andrea for her hand, the once-lonely Pinotta finds happiness, and the couple marries.
Cultural significance
In its small, intimate form, Pinotta reveals Mascagni's early lyrical voice from before Cavalleria rusticana, and after its belated premiere it has remained a rarely performed minor work in his output.