7) In composing the score, Simon Boswell drew from a number of nineteenth-century operas whose cast of characters and themes specifically complement Hoffman's own emphasis on the artisans and the theme of love's transformative power: Gioacchino Rossini's La Cenerentolla (1817), Vincenzo Bellini's Norma (1831), Gaetano Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore (1832), Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata (1853), and Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana (1890).

And in opera, while Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, not to mention the Puccini trilogy, are perennial favorites, the one-act opera remains a rarity" in the repertory.

The trio have continent-hopped across Europe and North America as Charbonnet sang leads or prominent roles in Fidelio, Aida, Cavalleria Rusticana, The Flying Dutchman, and Die Walkure.