Giacomo Puccini He was considered one of the great universal masters of music in the opera genre. He left a legacy of extraordinary compositions that materialized the most moving stories. This immortal melodic genius produced pieces that today constitute an invaluable musical heritage.
The most famous interpreters of the "bel canto" have among their repertoire some composition by Puccini; likewise, the most prestigious stages in the world include his work in their annual programming catalog. In times where current technological advancements did not exist, people used to regularly attend the theater.
There you could enjoy a good concert, a good performance and interesting choreography. You could also attend a mega show that brought everything together in one show: the opera. Being part of a famous opera at the beginning of the 19th century was equivalent to being a Hollywood star, and even more so if you were the creator of it..
That was precisely Giacomo Puccini; the most intense human passions shaped his musical palette. He managed in his time (transcending to the present time) to generate with his performances countless tears and warm applause from the public.
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Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo María Puccini was born on December 22, 1858 in the province of Lucca. This is a small town in the Tuscany region located in northern Italy.
He was part of a family of musicians, being the last and most famous exponent of five generations of ancestor composers, choir teachers and organ players. The Puccinis were known for their performance as chamber teachers in their local cathedral..
Michele Puccini (Giacomo's father) was a harmony teacher at the conservatory. He married Albina Magi, who was Giacomo's mother. The happiness lasted a few years since, when Giacomo was 5 years old, his father died. It was the year 1864 and Albina, aged 33, was left a widow with 2 boys and 5 girls.
Albina did not have personal fortune, so she put her hopes in Giacomo so that in the future he would contribute at home, but the boy was mischievous, distracted and careless in his schoolwork.
For this reason he sent him to study music with his uncle Fortunato Maggi. However, he did not observe in his nephew neither the talent nor the dedication required for the musical arts..
Given the uncle's rejection, Giacomo's mother sought and found another teacher for her son; this time it was the composer Carlo Angeloni. As a teacher he worked hard, achieving the boy's confidence and the flowering of his musical virtues.
His new teacher introduced him to the knowledge of authors and scores, but it was one work in particular that captivated the young Giacomo and prompted him to dedicate his life to composing: Aida, by Giuseppe Verdi.
It is said that just to attend a presentation of this work, the young Puccini (who lacked resources for the train passage) traveled a 17.5 km journey on foot, from Lucca to Pisa.
That took place in 1876, and from that moment the future master of the opera began to emerge. He composed small religious pieces: preludes, motets, creeds and even a mass.
In 1880 he decided to continue and perfect his studies. He entered the conservatory of the city with the greatest cultural effervescence in all of Italy: Milan. This was possible thanks to the intercession of his mother, who requested a scholarship from Queen Margaret of Savoy; this scholarship was conceived.
The Milanese environment allowed Puccini to get in touch with the most bustling intelligentsia of his time, all of whom at that time raised the rebellious flag of Bohemian life (scapigliatura).
His visit to Milan also allowed him to witness French-made operatic works, whose influence on the work of the Italian composer is undeniable..
In 1883 Giacomo graduated from the conservatory and immediately entered a competition for short operas with the work Le Villi. It is important to highlight the support given by their professors Poncielli and Bazzini.
They, seeing in him a promise of success, sent him a script for him to carry out the musical proposal; with that material he applied.
However, the new musician was so excited that he quickly wrote the score and sent it likewise..
The judges had to call him to translate the scribbles that he had written and that no one could decipher. After understanding it, his work was considered by the judges as worthy of being edited. It was the play Le Villi, which marked the beginning of his foray as a composer of operas.
At that time, to represent operatic shows the virtuosity of the composer was required first, but this was not enough.
Behind a successful opera there is also a story to tell; it is usually published literature with an attractive plot.
In addition, a multidisciplinary team was needed made up of playwrights, librettists, and actors and lyrical singers who were experts in adapting and materializing the story..
This work was carried out under the instructions of the composer and the taste of the public. In addition to this, it also required a trained technical staff and, of course, machinery to sponsor and promote the presentations..
The choice of a good work team had an impact on the past and has an impact on the result of a good assembly in the present..
Once the clarification is made, we will mention the main figures whose presence was constant and decisive in the successful career of one of the most illustrious composers of the 19th century, Giacomo Puccini. These were Giuseppe Giacosa (playwright, librettist and poet), Luigi Illica (librettist and writer) and Giulio Ricordi (music editor and composer).
Puccini fell in love with the wife of a pharmacist from his hometown named Elvira Bontura and eloped with her. From this union their two children were born: Fosca, born in 1880; and Antonio, born in 1886.
In 1904, after many years of living together and after Elvira became widowed (because there was no divorce at that time), Elvira and Giacomo got married..
An incident occurred with an employee of the Puccini couple named Doria Manfredi. This was accused by the artist's wife of having love affairs with her husband. The girl, tormented by the defamation, ingested a poison and died.
Her family had the body exhumed and the girl's maidenliness was verified, which is why they sued the couple, who had to disburse a large sum for reparation. From this incident Giacomo and Elvira parted ways.
Puccini had an irrepressible compulsion: tobacco. He compulsively smoked a box of cigarettes a day. At that time the effects of smoking were unknown, so many people acquired this bad habit. This pleasure cost Giacomo his life: in 1924 he was diagnosed with cancer and died on November 24 of that year..
Puccini performed minor pieces (symphonic caprices, preludes, hymns, minuets), medias (masses) and 12 important operas, among which the following stand out:
- 4 versions of the opera Edgar, composed in 1884.
- La Bohème, composed in 1896.
- Manan lescaut, composed in 1893.
- Tosca, composed in 1900.
- 5 versions of Madame butterfly, composed in 1904.
- 2 versions of La Fanciulla del West, composed in 1910.
- La Rondine, composed in 1917.
- Il Triptico, composed in 1918.
- Turandot, unfinishedly composed in 1926.
Puccini's female characters are adapted to the Victorian ideology of his time. They are women victimized, suffering, punished in case of transgressing the rules and customs.
They are women eager to be well loved, passive recipients of injustices and arbitrariness of men and society.
- Among his work team they called him "El Dogo"; that is to say, watchdog, for how fussy and rigorous he was with every detail of his productions.
- He had a real passion for cars and had several. It is said that he had a vehicle built with special operating characteristics that was listed as the first Italian-made 4 × 4.
- In 1904 he suffered a car accident for speeding that left him battered in one leg.
- In Italy a present (panettone) is usually sent at Christmas to friends and collaborators. By mistake, an old friend of Pucinni with whom he fell out (the composer Toscanini) received the present. Noticing the error, Giacomo sent him a note that read: "Panettone sent by mistake", to which the enemy replied: "Panettone eaten by mistake".
- The composer had a special ritual to compose: he isolated himself from the world with the door (and window) closed for hours and hours.
- Puccini generated musical techniques that later were frequently used in the world of cinema..
- He was appointed a member of the Royal Academy of Music in Sweden.
- He is considered the successor of the great Giussepe Verdi.
- In Lucca there is the Puccini House Museum, which houses objects, furniture and scores belonging to the author.
- Today, his hometown honors his memory by holding the Puccini Festival every year. This is one of the most relevant operatic events in the musical field. It takes place in the town of Torre del Lago, the city where the composer lived for 30 years and in which he developed most of his work..
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