1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Leoncavallo, Ruggiero

LEONCAVALLO, RUGGIERO (1858–  ), Italian operatic composer, was born at Naples and educated for music at the conservatoire. After some years spent in teaching and in ineffectual attempts to obtain the production of more than one opera, his Pagliacci was performed at Milan in 1892 with immediate success; and next year his Medici was also produced there. But neither the latter nor Chatterton (1896)—both early works—obtained any favour; and it was not till La Bohème was performed in 1897 at Venice that his talent obtained public confirmation. Subsequent operas by Leoncavallo were Zaza (1900), and Der Roland (1904). In all these operas he was his own librettist.