m'ama, scherzo for soprano and piano; Messagio d'amore, and Alla luna. In 1885, Mascagni composed Il Re a Napoli in Cremona, a romance for tenor and orchestra, on a text by Andrea Maffei. He left Milan without completing his studies. That year, he began touring as a conductor in the operetta companies of Vittorio Forlì, Alfonso and Ciro Scognamiglio, and, in Genoa, the company of Luigi Arnaldo Vassallo. Mascagni met the impresario Luigi Maresca in 1886 and started working with him. That December, Mascagni arrived in Cerignola with Maresca's company. He was accompanied by Argenide Marcellina Carbognani (Lina), his future wife. Helped by the mayor Giuseppe Cannone, Mascagni soon left the company of Maresca, though not without problems. He was appointed as the master of music and singing of the new philharmonia of Cerignola. His reputation grew. He also gave piano lessons. In February 1888, he began work on the Messa di Gloria. In July, Casa Sonzogno announced in the Teatro Illustrato its second competition for a one-act opera. The following year, Mascagni completed his composition of Cavalleria rusticana on 27 May and sent the manuscript to Milan. Mascagni married Lina Carbognani on 3 February 1889. The next day their first son, Domenico Mascagni ("Mimì"), was born. Their son Dino was born on 3 January 1891. A daughter, Emi, was born in 1892. 1890–1899 On 21 February 1890, Mascagni was summoned to Rome to present his opera. The première of Cavalleria rusticana, winner of the Sonzogno contest, was held 17 May at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. It had outstanding success, and the opera was soon performed in both the north and south of Italy: Florence, Turin, Bologna, Palermo, Milan, Genoa, Naples, Venice and Trieste. In December, Gustav Mahler conducted the opera in Budapest. Soon thereafter, the cities of Munich, Hamburg, St. Petersburg, Dresden and Buenos Aires welcomed the opera. In March 1891, it was sung in Vienna. At age 26, Mascagni had become internationally famous. Mascagni premiered his L'amico Fritz, his second most successful opera, on 31 October 1891 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. I Rantzau was premiered on 10 November at the Teatro La Pergola, in Florence, under his personal direction. The composer next completed Silvano (1894). On 16 February 1895 he premiered Guglielmo Ratcliff at the Teatro alla Scala of Milan. On 15 March Silvano was premiered at the same theatre. That year, Mascagni accepted the