Biography of Giacomo Puccini

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Biography of Giacomo Puccini Born Dec. 22, 1858 in Lucca, Italy; There was a long break before his next premiere, partly due Died Nov. 29, 1924 in Brussels, Belgium to a tragedy in his domestic life. Puccini had begun living with a married woman, Elvira Gemignani, only able to marry Born in 1858 into a long line of musicians in the Italian her himself when her first husband died. Their marriage town of Lucca, Giacomo Puccini was trained as an was not an easy one and eventually Elvira accused Puccini organist. At the age of 18, after hearing a performance of having an affair with a servant girl. The tension in the of Aida, Puccini resolved to become an opera composer household became intolerable and the girl committed and eight years later he began his studies at the Milan suicide. A court case determined that she had not had an Conservatory. Puccini was surrounded by compositional affair with Puccini and Elvira was jailed for five months. The geniuses in Milan: one of his instructors was Amilcare resulting publicity caused Puccini to withdraw for a while Ponchielli (composer of the opera La Gioconda, 1876). and also separate from his wife. They later reconciled but He and Ponchielli shared accommodations with Pietro their marriage was damaged permanently. Mascagni (composer of the opera Cavalleria Rusticana, 1890). In 1882 Puccini entered his first opera Le villi (The In 1910, he composed La fanciulla del West (The Girl of Witches) into a competition run by the publishing firm of the Golden West) for the Metropolitan Opera in New York Sonzogno. It didn’t win but it garnered the attention of the as well as Il trittico, a trio of one-act operas which also publisher Giulio Ricordi, with whom Puccini was to enjoy a premiered at the Met, in 1918. He died in 1924 of throat lifelong association. cancer before he could finish the final scene of his last opera Turandot. The opera was eventually completed by After several moderately successful operas, his first major Franco Alfano and premiered in 1926 at La Scala. international success was Manon Lescaut, premiered in 1893 in Turin. One of Puccini’s best known works La Puccini wrote almost nothing but operas. A meticulous Bohème, premiered in 1896 and was not a great success composer, he worked intensely on his scores, constantly when it was first produced. It has since become one of revising his work until he was satisfied. Although his style the most loved and performed operas in the world. Tosca is firmly rooted in the 19th-century Italian tradition, his later premiered successfully in Rome in 1900 and Madama works reveal cosmopolitan musical tastes, including the Butterfly followed in 1904 at La Scala. influence of French impressionist composers. Canadian Opera Company ~ Education and Outreach ~ Madama Butterfly Study Guide 2009/2010 ~ coc.ca ~ 416-306-2392.

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10-12-2019 Turandot Mat.Indd
Synopsis Act I Legendary Peking. Outside the Imperial Palace, a mandarin reads an edict to the crowd: Any prince seeking to marry Princess Turandot must answer three riddles. If he fails, he will die. The most recent suitor, the Prince of Persia, is to be executed at the moon’s rising. Among the onlookers are the slave girl Liù, her aged master, and the young Calàf, who recognizes the old man as his long-lost father, Timur, vanquished King of Tartary. Only Liù has remained faithful to the king, and when Calàf asks her why, she replies that once, long ago, Calàf smiled at her. The mob cries for blood but greets the rising moon with a sudden fearful reverence. As the Prince of Persia goes to his death, the crowd calls upon the princess to spare him. Turandot appears in her palace and wordlessly orders the execution to proceed. Transfixed by the beauty of the unattainable princess, Calàf decides to win her, to the horror of Liù and Timur. Three ministers of state, Ping, Pang, and Pong, appear and also try to discourage him, but Calàf is unmoved. He reassures Liù, then strikes the gong that announces a new suitor. Act II Within their private apartments, Ping, Pang, and Pong lament Turandot’s bloody reign, hoping that love will conquer her and restore peace. Their thoughts wander to their peaceful country homes, but the noise of the crowd gathering to witness the riddle challenge calls them back to reality. In the royal throne room, the old emperor asks Calàf to reconsider, but the young man will not be dissuaded.
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Cavalleria Rusticana Composer Biography: Pietro Mascagni Mascagni was an Italian composer born in Livorno on December 7, 1863. His father was a baker and dreamed of a career as a lawyer for his son, but following the good reception obtained by Mascagni’s first compositions was persuaded to allow him to study music at the Milan Conservatoire, where his teachers included Amilcare Ponchielli and Michele Saladino, and where he shared a furnished room with his fellow-student Giacomo Puccini. His first compositions won him financial support to study at the Milan Conservatory. He was of a rebellious nature and intolerant of discipline, and in 1885 he left the Conservatoire to join a modest operetta company as conductor. He became part of the Compagnia Maresca and, together with his future wife, Lina Carbognani, settled in Cerignola (Apulia) in 1886, where he formed a symphony orchestra. Here Mascagni composed at a single stroke, in only two months, the one-act opera Cavalleria rusticana, based on the short story by Verga, which was to win him the first prize in the Second Sonzogno Competition for new operas. The innovative strength of the opera and the resounding worldwide success which followed its first performance (1890, Teatro Costanzi, Rome) marked the beginning of an artistic life rich in achievements and satisfactions, both as composer and as conductor. He became increasingly prominent as a conductor and in 1892 conducted his opera I Rantzau around Europe. Further successes included Amica (1905) and Isabeau (1911), alongside such failures as Le maschere (1901). In 1915 he experimented with writing for cinema in Rapsodia satanicawith Nino Oxilia.
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GIUSEPPE VERDI otello conductor Opera in four acts Gustavo Dudamel Libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on production Bartlett Sher the play by William Shakespeare set designer Thursday, January 10, 2019 Es Devlin 7:30–10:30 PM costume designer Catherine Zuber Last time this season lighting designer Donald Holder projection designer Luke Halls The production of Otello was made possible by revival stage director Gina Lapinski a generous gift from Jacqueline Desmarais, in memory of Paul G. Desmarais Sr. The revival of this production is made possible by a gift from Rolex general manager Peter Gelb jeanette lerman-neubauer music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin 2018–19 SEASON The 345th Metropolitan Opera performance of GIUSEPPE VERDI’S otello conductor Gustavo Dudamel in order of vocal appearance montano a her ald Jeff Mattsey Kidon Choi** cassio lodovico Alexey Dolgov James Morris iago Željko Lučić roderigo Chad Shelton otello Stuart Skelton desdemona Sonya Yoncheva This performance is being broadcast live on Metropolitan emilia Opera Radio on Jennifer Johnson Cano* SiriusXM channel 75 and streamed at metopera.org. Thursday, January 10, 2019, 7:30–10:30PM KEN HOWARD / MET OPERA Stuart Skelton in Chorus Master Donald Palumbo the title role and Fight Director B. H. Barry Sonya Yoncheva Musical Preparation Dennis Giauque, Howard Watkins*, as Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello J. David Jackson, and Carol Isaac Assistant Stage Directors Shawna Lucey and Paula Williams Stage Band Conductor Gregory Buchalter Prompter Carol Isaac Italian Coach Hemdi Kfir Met Titles Sonya Friedman Children’s Chorus Director Anthony Piccolo Assistant Scenic Designer, Properties Scott Laule Assistant Costume Designers Ryan Park and Wilberth Gonzalez Scenery, properties, and electrical props constructed and painted in Metropolitan Opera Shops Costumes executed by Metropolitan Opera Costume Department; Angels the Costumiers, London; Das Gewand GmbH, Düsseldorf; and Seams Unlimited, Racine, Wisconsin Wigs and Makeup executed by Metropolitan Opera Wig and Makeup Department This production uses strobe effects.
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7866.02 (DDD) Franco Alfano (Naples, 1875 – Sanremo, 1954) RISURREZIONE Dramma in four acts - Libretto by Cesare Hanau from the novel by Leo Tolstoy Publisher: Casa Ricordi Milano Katerina Mihaylovna (Katyusha) Anne Sophie Duprels Prince Dimitri Ivanovich Nehlyudov Matthew Vickers Simonson Leon Kim Sofia Ivanovna Francesca Di Sauro Matryona Pavlovna / Anna Romina Tomasoni An old maidservant Nadia Pirazzini Vera / Korablyova Ana Victoria Pitts Fenyichka Barbara Marcacci The Hunchback Filomena Pericoli The Redhead Nadia Sturlese A woman Silvia Capra Kritzlov / Second peasant Lisandro Guinis Chief Guard Gabriele Spina Guard Giovanni Mazzei Train-station officer Nicolò Ayroldi Officer / First peasant Nicola Lisanti Muzhik Egidio Massimo Naccarato Cossack Antonio Montesi Fedia Giulia Bruni First female prisoner Delia Palmieri Second female prisoner Monica Marzini Third female prisoner Giovanna Costa Chorus Livia Sponton, Sabina Beani, Katja De Sarlo, Nadia Pirazzini Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Conductor: Francesco Lanzillotta - Chorus Master: Lorenzo Fratini Recording: MASClassica Audio Recording - Claudio Speranzini, Antonio Martino Recorded at: Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 17th and 21st January 2020 Tracklist Cd 1 46:34 Act I 01 Piano, che non si versi (Housekeeper, Maidservant, Katyusha) 02:54 02 Cristo è risuscitato (Housekeeper, Maidservant, Katyusha, Chorus) 04:45 03 Dimitri, figliuol mio (Sofia, Dimitri) 02:10 04 Tu sei cambiato tanto (Sofia, Dimitri, Housekeeper, Katyusha) 02:24 05 Qualcuno là in giardino?
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Operas Performed in New York City in 2013 (Compiled by Mark Schubin)
Operas Performed in New York City in 2013 (compiled by Mark Schubin) What is not included in this list: There are three obvious categories: anything not performed in 2013, anything not within the confines of New York City, and anything not involving singing. Empire Opera was supposed to perform Montemezzi’s L'amore dei tre re in November; it was postponed to January, so it’s not on the list. Similarly, even though Bard, Caramoor, and Peak Performances provide bus service from midtown Manhattan to their operas, even though the New York City press treats the excellent but four-hours-away-by-car Glimmerglass Festival like a local company, and even though it’s faster to get from midtown Manhattan to some performances on Long Island or in New Jersey or Westchester than to, say, Queens College, those out-of-city productions are not included on the main list (just for reference, I put Bard, Caramoor, and Peak Performances in an appendix). And, although the Parterre Box New York Opera Calendar (which includes some non-opera events) listed A Rite, a music-theatrical dance piece performed at the BAM Opera House, I didn’t because no performer in it sang. I did not include anything that wasn’t a local in-person performance. The cinema transmissions from the Met, Covent Garden, La Scala, etc., are not included (nor is the movie Metallica: Through the Never, which Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly called a “grand 3-D opera”). I did not include anything that wasn’t open to the public, so the Met’s workshop of Scott Wheeler’s The Sorrows of Frederick is not on the list.
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COMPOSER: Giacomo Puccini
COMPOSER: Giacomo Puccini HOW TO SAY THE NAME: ‘Puccini’ is said like Poo-chee-knee. ‘Giacomo’ is said like ‘Jee-ah-ko-mo’. BORN: December 22, 1858 – Lucca Italy DIED: November 29, 1924 – Brussels, Belgium (Diagnosed with throat cancer and died of a heart attack) BURIED: A specially built chapel in the grounds of his estate in Torre del Lago, Toscana, Italy. FULL NAME: Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini SPOUSE: Elvira Gemignani CHILDREN: Antonio Puccini FAMILY INFO: ▪ Five generations of his family were musicians and church organists. ▪ His father died when he was 6 years old and his uncle ensured that he continued his music studies. ▪ Puccini he became a choirboy at San Martino and San Michele and at the age of 14 he began to play organ for the convent church - his wages helped to support his family MOST POPULAR COMPOSITIONS (all operas): Madame Butterfly La bohème Tosca Turandot SOME INTERESTING FACTS: ▪ His music is very popular, especially in Italy. ▪ He was a leading composer during the Romantic Period. ▪ His music is full of long and beautiful tunes. ▪ Gianni Schicchi is different from all his other operas—it’s a comedy! ▪ His last opera, Turnadot, wasn’t finished when he died. It was finished instead by Franco Alfano. ▪ He died very rich. ▪ In 1903 Puccini was involve in a car accident and was seriously injured. The car was driven by his chauffeur and his wife, Elvira and their son, Antonio were also in the car when it off the road and flipped over. Both mother and child were spared any serious injury receiving only minor scrapes and bruises.
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La-Boheme-Extract.Pdf
OVERTURE OPERA GUIDES in association with We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Overture Publishing on this series of opera guides and to build on the work English National Opera did over twenty years ago with the Calder Opera Guide Series. As well as reworking and updating existing titles, Overture and ENO have commissioned new titles for the series and all of the guides will be published to coincide with the repertory being staged by the company. We hope that these guides will prove an invaluable resource now and for years to come, and that by delving deeper into the history of an opera, the libretto and the nuances of the score, readers’ understanding and appreciation of the opera and the art form in general will be enhanced. Daniel Kramer Artistic Director, ENO The publisher John Calder began the Opera Guides series under the editorship of the late Nicholas John in associa- tion with English National Opera in 1980. It ran until 1994 and eventually included forty-eight titles, covering fifty-eight operas. The books in the series were intended to be companions to the works that make up the core of the operatic repertory. They contained articles, illustrations, musical examples and a complete libretto and singing translation of each opera in the series, as well as bibliographies and discographies. The aim of the present relaunched series is to make available again the guides already published in a redesigned format with new illustrations, revised and newly commissioned articles, up- dated reference sections and a literal translation of the libretto that will enable the reader to get closer to the meaning of the original.
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Editing Puccini's Operas. the Case of "Manon Lescaut" Author(S): Suzanne Scherr Source: Acta Musicologica, Vol
Editing Puccini's Operas. The Case of "Manon Lescaut" Author(s): Suzanne Scherr Source: Acta Musicologica, Vol. 62, Fasc. 1 (Jan. - Apr., 1990), pp. 62-81 Published by: International Musicological Society Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/932827 Accessed: 26-02-2019 19:11 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms International Musicological Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Acta Musicologica This content downloaded from 132.174.255.206 on Tue, 26 Feb 2019 19:11:19 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 62 Editing Puccini's Operas The Case of "Manon Lescaut"* SUZANNE SCHERR (CHICAGO) The present study surveys the changing editorial and publishing practices of G. Ricordi & C. in Milan as applied to Giacomo Puccini's third opera and first popular success, Manon Lescaut (1893).1 In his letters the composer called it a "youthful" work with "some defects" and referred to his repeated efforts to "stabilize" the score.2 Therefore, as will be demonstrated, this oft-revised music provides typical examples of the editorial difficulties surrounding the twelve Puccini operas published by the Ricordi firm.3 Given the obvious limitations of this study, further research dedicated to the other operas is needed to construct a more exhaustive argument.4 However, some of the basic problems of editing these operas are examined in detail here.
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FINAL Tosca 2018
Stories Told Through Singing TOSCA Giacomo Puccini OPERA: Stories Told Through Singing At Palm Beach Opera, we believe that opera tells stories to which we can all relate, and that is why the operatic art form has thrived for centuries. The education programs at Palm Beach Opera plug the community directly into those stories, revealing timeless tales of love, passion, and joy. We challenge each person to find their own connection to opera’s stories, inspiring learners of all ages to explore the world of opera. At Palm Beach Opera there is something for everyone! #PBOperaForAll 1 PBOPERA.ORG // 561.833.7888 TOSCA Giacomo Puccini The Masterminds pg 3 Who's Who pg 7 Understanding the Action pg 9 Engage Your Mind pg 13 PBOPERA.ORG // 561.833.7888 2 The Masterminds 3 PBOPERA.ORG // 561.833.7888 Giacomo Puccini Composer Giacomo Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) was born into a musical family. He studied composition at the Milan Conservatory, writing his first opera in 1884 at the age of 26. A prolific composer, Puccini wrote many operas including several that are still in performance today: Manon Lescaut, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, La rondine, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Turandot, and La bohème. Although the designation of Puccini as a verismo composer is debated, many of his works can fit in this category. Verismo is derived from the Italian word ‘vero’ meaning'true;' the style is distinguished by realistic lines and genuine characters. Fun Factoid: Puccini's full name was Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini.
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Un Aspetto Del Realismo Nella Drammaturgia Di Stiffelio: La Musica Da Fuori Scena *
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