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 Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
b. Lucca, December 22, 1858; d. Brussels, November 29, 1924
Identified by George Bernard Shaw in 1894 as "the heir of Verdi," Puccini had just achieved his first major success with Manon Lescaut. Indeed, it had been a performance of Verdi's Aïda in 1876, one Puccini traveled 19 miles by foot to see, that opened his eyes to the wonder of opera. Four years after that formative experience Puccini would begin his studies at the Milan Conservatory, the same conservatory that once denied Verdi admission. Though Puccini may have possessed great potential as a student, it was not until age 36 and Manon Lescaut, his third attempt at opera, that he began to find his form. In the three operas that followed, all with the librettist team of Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, Puccini proved that if anyone deserved to be called Verdi's successor, he was the one.
First of the three operas was La bohème, which opened in Turin in 1896 under the baton of the young Arturo Toscanini. Four years later Tosca was an international sensation. While in London for its Covent Garden première, Puccini attended a David Belasco play, which he would choose to make his next opera. Madama Butterfly, when first performed in 1904 at La Scala, was a disaster. A determined Puccini revised it multiple times and the public response warmed immediately. In eight years time Puccini created three operas that would go on to stand among the most beloved in all the repertory.
Puccini's rise to fame was interrupted quite suddenly in 1909 by a crisis at home, when his wife suspected he and a young maidservant, Doria Manfredi, were having an affair and blamed the girl for it. Manfredi swore their innocence, but the public attacks continued. Completely devastated by the scandal, Manfredi took poison and died. The autopsy would reveal that she had died a virgin, thus providing evidence against the accusations, but it could not put to rest the rumors surrounding the terrible situation.
Puccini would return in late 1910 with La fanciulla del West, which premièred at the Met. His progress slowed in the following years, completing only La rondine in 1917 and Il trittico, three one-act operas, in 1918. As he began work on what would be his final opera, Turandot, Puccini’s health was declining. With the ending still unfinished, Puccini was suffering from throat cancer and while undergoing an operation, his heart failed and he died.
The legacy Puccini left behind captivates new audiences to this day. He had an unequaled ability to combine beautiful melody with intense drama and deliver it directly to his audience. Puccini’s popularity continues to grow and his place remains among the masters of opera.
-- Michael Chiappardi, Education and Community Programs Associate, Boston Lyric Opera
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