It was thus Clytemnestra slew her husband, and Orestes his mother.

Note the contrast which the duel between Alfio and Turiddu presents with the double murder to the piquant accompaniment of comedy in 'Pagliacci,' the opera which followed so hard upon its heels.

Since then piquancy has been the cry; the piquant contemplation of adultery, seduction, and murder amid the reek and stench of the Italian barnyard.

Think of Cilea's 'Tilda,' Giordano's 'Mala Vita,' Spinelli's 'A Basso Porto,' and Tasca's 'A Santa Lucia'! "The stories chosen for operatic treatment by the champions of verismo are all alike.

It is their filth and blood which fructifies the music, which rasps the nerves even as the plays revolt the moral stomach.