Ruggero Leoncavallo was an Italian opera composer best known for composing the opera titled Pagliacci. Born into an affluent Italian family, Ruggero was always interested in becoming a pianist and opera composer. He learned the basics of composing at the Naples Conservatory and later moved to Cairo, Egypt to teach music. He lived and taught in Paris for a few years as well. After his return to Italy, Ruggero became busy composing operas and after failing initially, he went on to achieve international fame with the release of his opera titled Pagliacci. It became one of the most popular operas of its time and catapulted Ruggero into international stardom. It also remains his only opera that is still performed to this date. Ruggero also composed several successful operas such as La boheme, Chatterton, I Medici and Zaza etc. Along with composing the operas, Ruggero also wrote librettos for his operas. Towards his final years, he inclined more towards composing operettas such as La Jeunesse de Figaro and his last composition was titled Edipo Re, which was performed after his demise.