Giacomo Puccini

(1858-1924)
Born December 22, 1858 in Lucca, in a family of musicians
. Puccini first attracted the attention of the early operas Willys (Le Villi, . Milan, . 1884), . Edgar (Edgar, . Milan, . 1890) and Manon Lescaut (Manon Lescaut, . Turin, . 1893), . but the first big success came to him only after staging La Bohц?me, . (La Bohme, . Turin, . 1896) on the famous story A. Murger Lifestyle bohemia,
. Opera tells of a carefree, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, the life of young artists in Paris, the inhabitants of the Latin Quarter. Puccini uses here the elements of Debussy's impressionistic style (eg, . moves parallel fourths and fifths), . realistic portrayal of life in the spirit of Mascagni, . but all this is added a mixture of humor typical puchchinievskaya, . charm, . excitement and sensuality,
.

Among the later operas of the composer's most recognized since the premiere enjoyed Tosca (Tosca, Rome, 1900), although the plot of this opera is almost sadistic in nature: on the stage - murder, suicide and torture. Music Tosca permeated not only a deep drama, but often surprising tenderness, lyrical thrill. Four years later appeared operaMadam Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), but at the premiere, she was adopted so cool that Puccini took the score to its complete rework. The new edition was released three months. The girl from the West (La Fanciulla del West, . NY, . 1910) observed a decrease in inspiration, . but the three one-act operas - Cloak (Il Tabarro), . Suor Angelica (Suor Angelica) and especially a witty and cheerful Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi, . NY, . 1918; Rome, . 1919) - prove, . that Puccini has achieved in this period of vertices skill, . at least technically,
. His last opera Turandot (Turandot) was left unfinished after the composer's death was completed by F. Alfano, and first performed in Milan in 1926.

In his works, Puccini, is based on the model of the French lyric opera (Massenet and Verdi in La Traviata). Melody and sentimentality are intricately combined with the brutality and cruelty of plot situations, and the title role in Puccini - always female. He clearly possessed the means of the orchestra, but the broad melodic line and unconstrained recitatives always had to Puccini predominant. Among the very few works of other genres are worthy of mention only two orchestral pieces: a symphonic Capriccio (Capriccio Sinfonico), . written as a thesis at the end of the Milan Conservatory, . and Rome Anthem (Inno a Roma), . composed in 1919 for the Roman schools,
. Puccini died in Brussels on 29 November 1924.