Soon, he betrayed her, then abandoned her. Lola's husband was frequently absent and she encouraged Turiddu's secret lovemaking. This situation exists before the curtain rises. The curtain rises on a village square with a church on one side and a tavern, the home of Mamma Lucia, on the other. It is Easter day.
Villagers cross the square and enter the church.
Santuzza appears and goes to Mamma Lucia's. She asks for Turiddu. His mother replied that he went out of town to buy wine for the tavern. Santuzza refuses to believe it and suspects that he is with Lola. Alfio, Lola's husband, enters, singing a lusty song about his horse and wagon.