Editing Ruggero Leoncavallo (section)

===Death and legacy===
Leoncavallo died in [[Montecatini Terme]], Tuscany, on 9 August 1919. His funeral was held two days later, with hundreds in attendance, including fellow composer [[Pietro Mascagni]] and longtime rival [[Giacomo Puccini]]. He was buried in the [[Cimitero delle Porte Sante]] in Florence.

70 years after his death a campaign was launched to move the composer's remains to [[Brissago]], Switzerland, after an alleged letter written by Leoncavallo claimed to show he had desired to be buried there originally, although no such letter was ever found. Leoncavallo became an honorary citizen of Brissago and owned a lavish summer residence, Villa Myriam, in the town; in 1904 the composer had mentioned in a speech that he would not mind having a resting place in the town's Madonna di Porte cemetery, but it was never a written request in his will. Regardless the campaign to move Leoncavallo's remains moved ahead and was granted official approval by Piera Leoncavallo-Grand, the last remaining descendant of the composer; Ruggero Leoncavallo's body was exhumed on 22 September 1989 for transfer to Switzerland.<ref>Compare: {{harvnb|Dryden|2007|at=ch. "1878–1888", p. 181}}: "The idea of moving Leoncavallo's remains sparked great controversy ... The approval of a Leoncavallo relative was sought and received on 22 September 1989, ... when Piera Leoncavallo-Grand, Giuseppe Leoncavallo's descendant, began legal proceedings to have the body exhumed, stating that she was acting on behalf of the composer and his relatives, a decision she would later deeply regret. ... Leoncavallo's remains were placed in a zinc box that were[sic] driven to Brissago the same day."</ref> and burial there, alongside the remains of his wife Berthe (who had died in 1926).<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Fohrer
 |first1               = Eberhard
 |last2                = Schmid
 |first2               = Marcus X.
 |date                 = 26 May 2023
 |chapter              = Brissago
 |title                = Lago Maggiore
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=lcjAEAAAQBAJ
 |series               = Reiseführer
 |language             = de
 |location             = Erlangen
 |publisher            = Michael Müller Verlag
 |pages                =
 |isbn                 = 9783966852166
 |access-date          = 22 August 2024
 |quote                = Erst 1989 entsprach man seinen Wunsch und überführte seine sterblichen Reste nach Brissago ... Chiesa Madonna di Ponte: ... Unter dem kleinen Portikus gegenueber dem Eingang hat ... der Opernkomponist Ruggero Leoncavallo mitsamt Gattin Berthe seine letzte Ruhe gefunden}}</ref>

The Museo Leoncavallo (Leoncavallo Museum) was established in 2002 in Brissago to commemorate the composer. It includes personal items and original manuscripts on display as well as statues representing characters from his operas ''Zazà'' and ''Der Roland von Berlin''. The Museo Ruggiero Leoncavallo in the composer's childhood home of Montalto Uffugo was opened in 2010 and also contains various manuscripts and personal items, as well as Leoncavallo's personal piano.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.museoleoncavallo.it/mu/ | title=Museo Ruggiero Leoncavallo – Museo Ruggiero Leoncavallo }}</ref>

Little from Leoncavallo's other operas is heard today, but the baritone arias from ''Zazà'' were great concert and recording favourites among baritones and ''Zazà'' as a whole is sometimes revived, as is his ''La bohème''. The tenor arias from ''La bohème'' remain recording favorites.

Leoncavallo also composed songs, most famously [[Mattinata (Leoncavallo)| "Mattinata"]], which he wrote for the Gramophone Company (which became [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]]) with Caruso's unique voice in mind. On 8 April 1904, Leoncavallo accompanied Caruso at the piano as they recorded the song. On 8 December 1905 he recorded five of his own pieces for the [[reproducing piano]] [[Welte-Mignon]].<ref name="Dangel">Gerhard Dangel und Hans-W. Schmitz: ''Welte-Mignon Reproductions. Complete Library Of Recordings For The Welte-Mignon Reproducing Piano 1905–1932''. Stuttgart 2006; {{ISBN|3-00-017110-X}}, pp. 49, 518.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.tacet.de/main/seite1.php?layout=katalog&language=en&filename=production.php&bestnr=01780 |title= TACET Musikproduktion}}</ref>

Leoncavallo wrote the libretti for most of his own operas;<ref>{{harvnb|Mahler Foundation|2015}} "Another clue to demonstrate that Leoncavallo had no or little part in ''Edipo re'' is that unusually, in fact exceptionally, Leoncavallo did not write the libretto. The libretto for ''Edipo re'' was written by Giovacchino Forzano</ref><ref>Exceptions include ''La candidata'', ''Maïa'', ''Malbruk'', ''Mameli'' (in part), and ''Prestami tua moglie'' – see: {{harvnb|Dryden|2007|at=Appendix: The Leoncavallo Opus, pp. 321ff}}</ref> after the death in 1918 of [[Arrigo Boito]] some ranked Leoncavallo as the greatest librettist in Italy.<ref>
{{cite web
| url          = https://www.steynonline.com/14648/vesti-la-giubba-mattinata
| title        = Vesti la giubba/Mattinata
| date         = 15 September 2024
| publisher    = [[Mark Steyn]]
| access-date  = 21 February 2025
| quote        = Leoncavallo was a composer and librettist, and more admired as the latter than the former: by 1919, after the death the year before of Arrigo Boito (Verdi's ''Otello'' and ''Falstaff'', Ponchielli's ''La Gioconda''), Signor Leoncavallo was regarded as Italy's greatest librettist.}}</ref> His work for other composers included a contribution to the libretto for Puccini's 1893 work [[Manon Lescaut (Puccini)|''Manon Lescaut'']].<ref>
{{cite book
 |editor-last1         = Fisher
 |editor-first1        = Burton D.
 |year                 = 2000
 |chapter              = Puccini and Manon Lescaut
 |title                = Giacomo Puccini: ''Manon Lescaut''
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=N-al9hcn4uoC
 |series               = Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series
 |publisher            = Opera Journeys Publishing
 |page                 = 
 |isbn                 = 9781930841093
 |access-date          = 5 September 2024
 |quote                = ... ''Manon Lescaut'' (1893). The genesis of the opera's libretto was itself a melodrama that was saturated with feuds and disagreements between its considerable group of librettists, who included Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Luigi Mica, Giuseppe Giacosa, Domenico Oliva, Marco Praga, and even Giulio Ricordi himself.
}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Mahler Foundation|2015}} "Among Leoncavallo's libretti for other composers is his contribution to the libretto for Puccini's ''Manon Lescaut''."</ref>