Leoncavallo claimed that he based the story of "Pagliacci" on an incident from his childhood: a murder in 1865, the victim of which was a Leoncavallo family servant, Gaetano Scavello.
He based the story of "Pagliacci" on an incident from his childhood: a murder in 1865, the victim of which was a Leoncavallo family servant, Gaetano Scavello. This was what Leoncavallo claimed.