About the work
Zanetto is a 'scena lirica', or one-act opera, by Pietro Mascagni to a libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, after Emilio Praga's Italian translation of François Coppée's play Le Passant. With only two singing roles and a running time of around forty minutes, it is Mascagni's shortest opera; it premiered on 2 March 1896 at the Liceo Musicale Rossini in Pesaro as part of the annual Rossini celebrations.
Plot
The wealthy but unhappy courtesan Silvia meets the young wandering singer Zanetto in Renaissance Florence. Unlike her many suitors, his innocent declaration of love genuinely touches her heart. But rather than draw the young man into her tarnished life, Silvia ultimately sends him away.
Cultural significance
The source play made theatre history through Sarah Bernhardt's breeches role as Zanetto; Mascagni composed his chamber work immediately before his breakthrough with Cavalleria rusticana. It is still occasionally staged today as a short curtain-raiser alongside one-act works by other composers.