ich, an afterthought, Mascagni put into
his prelude as a serenade, not in disparagement, but in praise of Lola.
It was at Easter that Alfio returned to discover the infidelity of his
wife, and hence we have an Easter hymn, one of the musical high lights
of the work, though of no dramatic value. Verga aims to awaken at least
a tittle of extenuation and a spark of sympathy for Turiddu by showing
us his filial love in conflict with his willingness to make reparation
to Alfio; Mascagni and his librettists do more by showing us the figure
of the young soldier blending a request for a farewell kiss from his
mother with a prayer for protection for the woman he has wronged. In
its delineation of the tender emotions, indeed, the opera is more
generous and kindly than the story. Santuzza does not betray her lover
in cold blood as does Santa, but in the depth of her humiliation and at
the climax of her jealous fury created by Turiddu's rejection of her
when he follows Lola into church. Moreover, her love opens the gates to
remorse the moment she realizes what the consequence of her act is to
be. The opera sacrifices some of the virility of Turiddu's character as
sketched by Verga, but by its classic treatment of the scene of the
killing it saves us from the contemplation of Alfio's dastardly trick
which turns a duel into a cowardly assassination.

The prelude to the opera set the form which Leoncavallo followed,
slavishly followed, in "Pagliacci."

The orchestral proclamation of the moving passions of the play is made
by the use of fragments of melody which in the vocal score mark
climaxes in the dialogue. The first high point in the prelude is
reached in the strain to which Santuzza begs for the love of Turiddu
even after she has disclosed to him her knowledge of his infidelity:--

[figure: a musical score excerpt]

[figure: a musical score excerpt]

the second is the broad melody in which she pleads with him to return
to her arms:--

[figure: a musical score excerpt]

Between these expositions falls the Siciliano, which interrupts the
instrumental flood just as Lola's careless song, the Stornello,
interrupts the passionate rush of Santuzza's protestations, prayers,
and lamentations in the scene between her and her faithless lover:--

[figure: a musical score excerpt setting the words "O Lola, blanca come
flor di spino, quando t'affaci ti s'affaccio il sole"]

These sharp contrasts, heightened by the device of surprise,