Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 –… Read Full Bio ↴Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) is regarded as one of the great operatic composers of the late 19th and early 20th century. Although he wrote only twelve operas, Puccini's works dominate the operatic stage, particularly in the United States, where, according to Opera America, Madama Butterfly and La Bohème are the two most frequently performed operas respectively, with Tosca being eighth and Turandot being twelfth on the same list. Known for his melodic ability, orchestra depth, and dramatism, in Italian opera, Puccini was the only true successor to Giuseppe Verdi.
Puccini was born in Lucca, Italy into a family with a long history of music. After the death of his father when he was only five years old, he was sent to study with his uncle Fortunato Magi, who considered him to be a poor and undisciplined student. Later, he took the position of church organist and choir master, but it was not until he saw a performance of Verdi's Aida that he became inspired to be an opera composer. He and a friend walked an entire 18.5 miles (30 Kilometers) to see the performance in Pisa. In 1880, Puccini travelled to the Conservatory of Music in Milan to begin his career by studying composition with Amilcare Ponchielli.
In 1880, the Messa composed at the age of 21, marked the end of Puccini's apprenticeship as a composer and the culmination of his family's long association with church music in his native Lucca. (Note: This name normally applies only to a "Gloria" mass, setting the opening two prayers of the Catholic Mass, the Kyrie and the Gloria. However, the Messa is a setting of the full Catholic Mass.) The work offers fascinating glimpses of the dramatic power that Puccini was soon to unleash on Milan's stages; the powerful arias for tenor and bass soloists are certainly more operatic in feel than is usually encountered in church music. The orchestration and the overall feeling of drama conveyed by his music establish a dialogue with Verdi's Requiem and perhaps already constitute a prediction of the future operatic career Puccini would embrace for life.
From 1880 to 1883 he studied at the Milan Conservatory under Ponchielli and Antonio Bazzini. In 1882, Puccini entered a competition for a one-act opera. Although he did not win, Le Villi was later staged in 1884 at the Teatro dal Verme; it also caught the attention of Giulio Ricordi, head of G. Ricordi & Co. music publishers, who commissioned a second opera, Edgar (1889).
From 1891 on, Puccini passed more and more of his time at Torre del Lago, in the Tuscan countryside. In this place on the border of the Massaciuccoli lake, where he passed lots of time hunting, he found refuge from the crowded city. Later he built a villa and moved there definitively in 1900. It was to remain his home and workplace until the very last years of his life. He is buried in the villa's chapel.
Puccini was born in Lucca, Italy into a family with a long history of music. After the death of his father when he was only five years old, he was sent to study with his uncle Fortunato Magi, who considered him to be a poor and undisciplined student. Later, he took the position of church organist and choir master, but it was not until he saw a performance of Verdi's Aida that he became inspired to be an opera composer. He and a friend walked an entire 18.5 miles (30 Kilometers) to see the performance in Pisa. In 1880, Puccini travelled to the Conservatory of Music in Milan to begin his career by studying composition with Amilcare Ponchielli.
In 1880, the Messa composed at the age of 21, marked the end of Puccini's apprenticeship as a composer and the culmination of his family's long association with church music in his native Lucca. (Note: This name normally applies only to a "Gloria" mass, setting the opening two prayers of the Catholic Mass, the Kyrie and the Gloria. However, the Messa is a setting of the full Catholic Mass.) The work offers fascinating glimpses of the dramatic power that Puccini was soon to unleash on Milan's stages; the powerful arias for tenor and bass soloists are certainly more operatic in feel than is usually encountered in church music. The orchestration and the overall feeling of drama conveyed by his music establish a dialogue with Verdi's Requiem and perhaps already constitute a prediction of the future operatic career Puccini would embrace for life.
From 1880 to 1883 he studied at the Milan Conservatory under Ponchielli and Antonio Bazzini. In 1882, Puccini entered a competition for a one-act opera. Although he did not win, Le Villi was later staged in 1884 at the Teatro dal Verme; it also caught the attention of Giulio Ricordi, head of G. Ricordi & Co. music publishers, who commissioned a second opera, Edgar (1889).
From 1891 on, Puccini passed more and more of his time at Torre del Lago, in the Tuscan countryside. In this place on the border of the Massaciuccoli lake, where he passed lots of time hunting, he found refuge from the crowded city. Later he built a villa and moved there definitively in 1900. It was to remain his home and workplace until the very last years of his life. He is buried in the villa's chapel.
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01Puccini: Tosca, Act 1 Scene 1: "Ah! Finalmente! Nel terror mio stolto" (Angelotti)2:06Franco Calabrese/Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Milano/Victor de Sabata
03Puccini: Tosca, Act 1 Scene 3: "Sante ampolle! Il suo ritratto!" (Sagrestano, Cavaradossi)1:14Giacomo Puccini
04Puccini: Tosca, Act 1 Scene 3: "Dammi i colori! … Recondita armonia" (Cavaradossi, Sagrestano)4:24Giacomo Puccini
05Puccini: Tosca, Act 1 Scene 4: "Gente là dentro!" (Cavaradossi, Angelotti, Tosca)1:10Giacomo Puccini
06Puccini: Tosca, Act 1 Scene 5: "Mario! Mario! Mario! … Son qui!" (Tosca, Cavaradossi)2:03Giacomo Puccini
12Puccini: Tosca, Act 1 Scene 7: "Sommo giubilo, Eccellenza!" (Sagrestano, Chorus)1:22Giacomo Puccini
13Puccini: Tosca, Act 1 Scene 8: "Un tal baccano in chiesa!" (Scarpia, Sagrestano, Spoletta)3:44Giacomo Puccini
14Puccini: Tosca, Act 1 Scene 9: "Tosca? Che non mi veda" (Scarpia, Tosca, Sagrestano)2:51Giacomo Puccini
15Puccini: Tosca, Act 1 Scene 9: "Ed io venivo a lui tutta dogliosa" (Tosca, Scarpia)3:46Giacomo Puccini
16Puccini: Tosca, Act 1 Scene 9: "Tre sbirri, una carrozza" (Scarpia, Spoletta, Chorus)4:31Giacomo Puccini
19Puccini: Tosca, Act 2 Scene 2: "O galantuomo, come andò la caccia?" (Scarpia, Spoletta)1:01Giacomo Puccini
21Puccini: Tosca, Act 2 Scene 3: "Dov'è Angelotti?" (Scarpia, Cavaradossi, Spoletta, Tosca)2:47Giacomo Puccini
22Puccini: Tosca, Act 2 Scene 4: "Ed or fra noi parliam da buoni amici" (Scarpia, Tosca)1:08Giacomo Puccini
23Puccini: Tosca, Act 2 Scene 4: "Sciarrone, che dice il Cavalier?" (Scarpia, Sciarrone, Tosca, Voce di Cavaradossi)2:52Tito Gobbi/Dario Caselli/Giuseppe di Stefano/Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Milano/Victor de Sabata
24Puccini: Tosca, Act 2 Scene 4: "Orsù, Tosca, parlate" (Scarpia, Tosca, Voce di Cavaradossi, Spoletta, Sciarrone)3:27Giacomo Puccini
25Puccini: Tosca, Act 2 Scene 4: "Floria! … Amore" (Cavaradossi, Tosca, Scarpia, Sciarrone)2:42Giacomo Puccini
27Puccini: Tosca, Act 2 Scene 5: "Se la giurata fede debbo tradir" (Scarpia, Tosca)2:12Giacomo Puccini
30Puccini: Tosca, Act 2 Scene 5: "Vedi, le man giunte io stendo a te!" (Tosca, Scarpia, Spoletta)3:11Giacomo Puccini
34Puccini: Tosca, Act 3 Scene 1: Introduction (Andante sostenuto) - "Io de' sospiri" (Un Pastore)2:49Alvaro Cordova/Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Milano/Victor de Sabata
36Puccini: Tosca, Act 3 Scene 2: "Mario Cavaradossi? A voi." (Carceriere, Cavaradossi)4:04Giacomo Puccini
38Puccini: Tosca, Act 3 Scene 3: Moderato con moto - "Ah! Franchigia a Floria Tosca" (Cavaradossi, Tosca)2:34Giacomo Puccini
41Puccini: Tosca, Act 3 Scene 3: "Amaro sol per te m'era il morire" (Cavaradossi, Tosca)1:54Giacomo Puccini
42Puccini: Tosca, Act 3 Scene 3: "E non giungono" (Tosca, Cavaradossi, Carceriere)2:26Giacomo Puccini
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Puccini: Tosca
Franco Calabrese/Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala Milano/Victor de Sabata Lyrics
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