Zingari's libretto was inspired by Alexander Pushkin's poem "The Gypsies". Following Zazà and Il Rolando di Berlino, Leoncavallo had abandoned the Wagner-inspired practice of writing his own librettos, and accepted the collaboration with Enrico Cavacchioli supported by the publisher Sonzogno. The opera first premiered in London in 1912. Having had considerable success at the time, the opera left soon the repertoire of theaters following the composer's death. Today, we can affirm that Zingari isn't a poor quality repeat of Pagliacci, and Leoncavallo's energy and creativity had not abandoned him. And it is unfair that the opera was consigned to oblivion for so long, apart from a revival by Italian broadcasting in the RAI production of 1975 and a further staging at Montecatini in 1999. This recording is thus a major step towards rectifying this state of affairs.