One of the leading figures of Italian opera, Giacomo Puccini
was born in Lucca in Tuscany on December 22nd, 1858 into a family
with a long history in music. After his father died when Giacomo was only five
years of age, he was sent off to study with his uncle Fortunato Magi, an
organist and choir master. During this time, he sang in the choir and
eventually performed as a freelance organist in religious service. A clause in
his uncle's contract stipulated that Giacomo was next in line to take over the
position of organist and choir master in Lucca. However, he never took the
position. A performance of Verdi's Aida,
which Giacomo and his brother walked eighteen miles to see, had a lasting
impact on Giacomo and set his resolve to become an opera composer.
In 1880, Puccini enrolled in the Milan Conservatory studying
composition with Ronchetti-Monteviti, Ponchielli and Bazzini. During his first
year there, he composed the Messa,
usually known however as the Messa di
Gloria. With a definite influence from Verdi, the Messa showed Puccini's inclination towards opera with powerful
arias for tenor and bass soloists that attempted to break the solemn bounds of
church music.
His first operatic attempt, Le Villi, came in 1882 and was set to a libretto by Ferdinando
Fontana. He entered the opera in a competition and, though it did not win, a
performance of the opera in 1884 nevertheless drew the attention of Giulio
Ricordi, head of G. Ricordi & Co. music publishers. Ricordi commissioned a
second opera, Edgar, from Puccini in
1889. This opera, however, was a complete failure. Fontana was once again
enlisted as the librettists, though he story was thought poor and weak. In
frustration over the opera's flop, Puccini determined to write his own libretto
for his next opera, Manon Lescaut.
Ricordi, nevertheless, managed to persuade Puccini to take on Leoncavallo as a
librettist. This, however, did not work either. Puccini consistently changed
his mind on the order and structure of the opera. Eventually, Luigi Illica and
Giuseppe Giacosa, were assigned the task of completing the opera and did so.
The premiere of Manon Lescaut
established Puccini's reputation as a prominent opera composer and marked the
beginning of his remarkable collaboration with Illica and Giacosa. Over the
next decade, the trio produced Puccini's arguably three greatest opera: La bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. Today, all three are
among the most often performed operas in the repertoire.
Following, Madama
Butterfly, Puccini's creative fervor waned. In small part, this diminished
activity can be attributed to the death of Giacosa in 1906 and then Ricordi in
1912. Other operas, however, did follow. La
fanciulla del West was completed in 1910 and La rondine in 1916. His last complete attempt was a trilogy of
one-act operas titled Il trittico.
Only the last of the three, a comedy, enjoyed any success.
In 1923, during the composition of Turandot, Puccini was diagnosed with
throat cancer. His doctors recommended an experimental radiation treatment
being offered in Brussels. During treatment, Puccini suffered a heart attack
and died on November 29, 1924. The final two scenes of Turandot were completed by Franco Alfano based on sketches that Puccini
had left. It was premiered two years later in 1926 under the direction of
Arturo Toscanini.
Giacomo Puccini
Biography
One of the leading figures of Italian opera, Giacomo Puccini was born in Lucca in Tuscany on December 22nd, 1858 into a family with a long history in music. After his father died when Giacomo was only five years of age, he was sent off to study with his uncle Fortunato Magi, an organist and choir master. During this time, he sang in the choir and eventually performed as a freelance organist in religious service. A clause in his uncle's contract stipulated that Giacomo was next in line to take over the position of organist and choir master in Lucca. However, he never took the position. A performance of Verdi's Aida, which Giacomo and his brother walked eighteen miles to see, had a lasting impact on Giacomo and set his resolve to become an opera composer.
In 1880, Puccini enrolled in the Milan Conservatory studying composition with Ronchetti-Monteviti, Ponchielli and Bazzini. During his first year there, he composed the Messa, usually known however as the Messa di Gloria. With a definite influence from Verdi, the Messa showed Puccini's inclination towards opera with powerful arias for tenor and bass soloists that attempted to break the solemn bounds of church music.
His first operatic attempt, Le Villi, came in 1882 and was set to a libretto by Ferdinando Fontana. He entered the opera in a competition and, though it did not win, a performance of the opera in 1884 nevertheless drew the attention of Giulio Ricordi, head of G. Ricordi & Co. music publishers. Ricordi commissioned a second opera, Edgar, from Puccini in 1889. This opera, however, was a complete failure. Fontana was once again enlisted as the librettists, though he story was thought poor and weak. In frustration over the opera's flop, Puccini determined to write his own libretto for his next opera, Manon Lescaut. Ricordi, nevertheless, managed to persuade Puccini to take on Leoncavallo as a librettist. This, however, did not work either. Puccini consistently changed his mind on the order and structure of the opera. Eventually, Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, were assigned the task of completing the opera and did so. The premiere of Manon Lescaut established Puccini's reputation as a prominent opera composer and marked the beginning of his remarkable collaboration with Illica and Giacosa. Over the next decade, the trio produced Puccini's arguably three greatest opera: La bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. Today, all three are among the most often performed operas in the repertoire.
Following, Madama Butterfly, Puccini's creative fervor waned. In small part, this diminished activity can be attributed to the death of Giacosa in 1906 and then Ricordi in 1912. Other operas, however, did follow. La fanciulla del West was completed in 1910 and La rondine in 1916. His last complete attempt was a trilogy of one-act operas titled Il trittico. Only the last of the three, a comedy, enjoyed any success.
In 1923, during the composition of Turandot, Puccini was diagnosed with throat cancer. His doctors recommended an experimental radiation treatment being offered in Brussels. During treatment, Puccini suffered a heart attack and died on November 29, 1924. The final two scenes of Turandot were completed by Franco Alfano based on sketches that Puccini had left. It was premiered two years later in 1926 under the direction of Arturo Toscanini.