Music

Giacomo Puccini

1858–1924 · Italian

Late Romantic (verismo)

Puccini was the greatest Italian opera composer after Verdi, and his operas are among the most performed in the world. Combining sweeping melody with realistic, often tragic drama, he created La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and the unfinished Turandot.

How to spot them

▸Soaring, emotionally charged vocal melodies doubled by the orchestra, often for a doomed heroine
▸Exotic local colour: Japanese tunes in Madama Butterfly, Chinese melodies in Turandot
▸Clue patterns: Lucca, Torre del Lago, librettists Illica and Giacosa, Pavarotti and Italia 90

Key works — listen

La bohème (1896)

Bohemian artists in Paris; Mimì dies of consumption — 'Che gelida manina', 'O soave fanciulla'

Recording: Enrico Caruso (1873–1921)), Nellie Melba (1861–1931) Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Tosca (1900)

Rome, 1800: Tosca, Cavaradossi and the villainous Scarpia — 'Vissi d'arte', 'E lucevan le stelle'

Madama Butterfly (1904)

Geisha Cio-Cio-San abandoned by US naval officer Pinkerton — 'Un bel dì vedremo'

Turandot (1926 (premiere))

Unfinished at his death; Calaf's aria 'Nessun dorma' became the BBC's Italia 90 theme

Recording: Giacomo Puccini(1858 - 1924), Aureliano Pertile (1885-1952) · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Gianni Schicchi (1918)

One-act comedy from Il trittico, featuring Lauretta's aria 'O mio babbino caro'

Recording: Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), Giovacchino Forzano (1884–1970), Frances Alda (1879–1952) · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Manon Lescaut (1893)

His first big success, premiered in Turin

Quick-fire facts

•He was born in Lucca, Tuscany, into a long line of church musicians.
•La bohème was premiered in Turin in 1896, conducted by Arturo Toscanini.
•Madama Butterfly was a fiasco at its La Scala premiere in 1904 but succeeded in revised form at Brescia later that year.
•Turandot was completed after his death by Franco Alfano; at the 1926 premiere Toscanini stopped where Puccini's music ended.
•Luciano Pavarotti's recording of 'Nessun dorma' was the BBC theme for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
•Il trittico (1918) comprises Il tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, premiered at the Metropolitan Opera, New York.
•He died in Brussels in 1924 while being treated for throat cancer.

Drill it — 9 cards

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Sources

Grove Music Online (Oxford Music Online) — Puccini, Giacomo
Encyclopaedia Britannica — Giacomo Puccini
Wikipedia — Giacomo Puccini