The son of a police magistrate, Leoncavallo was born in Naples
and entered the Conservatoire there in 1866. He remained for ten
years before moving on to Bologna University to broaden his
education, and received a degree in literature two years later.
Leoncavallo then arranged to have his first opera, Chatterton,
performed, raising the money himself. His efforts failed when
the impresario organizing the venture
absconded, taking the funds with him.
The composer spent the
next few years in poverty, earning a living by playing the piano
in cafes while travelling across Europe. His fortunes appeared to
have changed when he was introduced to the publisher Giulio
Ricordi, but after several abortive projects Leoncavallo lost
patience and over the next five months wrote the poem and music of
his opera I Pagliacci.
In 1892 he took the score to a rival publisher who immediately
arranged a performance in Milan. The opera, based on the
experiences of Leoncavallo's father as a judge, makes good use of
a plot in which a middle-aged actor murders his young and
unfaithful wife. The work was a resounding success, mainly due to
the coupling of a melodramatic plot with intensely passionate
music: moments of great excitement follow in quick succession,
forging a powerful and colourful impression.
In 1893 both Leoncavallo and Puccini independently began
setting the text of the popular novel La Boheme, but
Leoncavallo's version reached the stage a year after Puccini's and
was unable to compete with his rival's already highly popular
work. After this he turned to a French subject for his next opera,
Zaza. This picturesque work is unashamedly sentimental. The
emotional and lyrical music requires a skilled soprano with a
forceful stage presence if it is to succeed. Although Zаzа was
enthusiastically received at its first performance in 1900, it
failed to surpass Pagliacci, which remains his most popular
opera.
At this time the gramophone record was coming into use and
Leoncavallo was one of the first composers to grasp the
opportunities it offered. In 1904 he recorded his best-known song,
Mattinata, and three years later became the first man to
record an entire opera when he conducted Pagliacci in the
studio. He spent his final years travelling widely to promote his
music, and his last opera, Edipo Re, was performed
posthumously in Chicago in 1920, the year after its composer's
death.
Although Leoncavallo never achieved the universal recognition
he felt should be his, he was an accomplished musician and his
best work has a dramatic appeal that has guaranteed continuing
popularity.
