This thesis examines the production and reception of Pietro Mascagni’s opera Cavalleria Rusticana in Stockholm in December 1890. The opera had been successfully premiered in Rome in May 1890. The first performance outside Italy took place at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm seven months after the premiere.  The aim of the thesis is to increase the understanding of opera as a cultural phenomenon in Stockholm at the end of the 19th century. William Sewell’s ideas about the different meanings of the word ‘culture’ are used to give content to the concept of ‘cultural phenomenon’. Culture is seen as a category of social life with both a system of symbols and a sphere of practice.   The primary sources are documents from the Archive of the Royal Theatres and Swedish newspapers in the database ‘Svenska Dagstidningar’ at the National Library of Sweden. The study shows that Cavalleria Rusticana was staged unusually quickly in Stockholm and seems to have become a role model for future short staging processes. The thesis describes and analyses parts of the production process and identifies the factors that made the rapid process possible. Ticket sales and the number of performances are examined to describe and analyse audience reception. The Swedish press coverage of Cavalleria Rusticana was extensive before and after the Stockholm premiere. The thesis describes and analyses the content of the newspaper reports. Finally, some suggestions for further research are made.

In music, the term verismo usually refers to a realistic or naturalistic movement in Italian operas of the late nineteenth century. From the dawn of Italian opera four features have been manifested--umanita (humanism), sincerity (sincerity), passione (passion), effetto (not only theatrical effect but the supreme dramatic moment). The elements of verismo are among the characteristics present in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi where they reached a zenith of development. It is upon these veristic aspects, as identified in the second chapter, that the operas Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci were based. Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, and La Traviata richly exhibit these elements of verismo which have been identified in the fourth chapter.