Giacomo Puccini

Classical Music Composer's Datebook: December 22

 

Brief biography of G. Puccini, Italian Realism Opera Composer, Verismo Maestro

Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was born 22nd December, 1858, in Lucca, Tuscany. He was born into a family of musicians in Lucca. His father was a choirmaster and an organist. He was fifth in line of family composers and Italian church musicians in his hometown. Puccini is famous for operas including La Bohème,  Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, Manon Lescaut, and the unfinished Turandot, all popular to this day. Greatest 'Giovane Scuola' of his time.

Some of his melodies, such as "O mio babbino caro" from his comedic one-act masterpiece Gianni Schicchi,  and "Nessun dorma" from Turandot, popularized by the tenor Luciano Pavarotti, have become part of our modern culture. Puccini's operas combine exotic plots with elements of realism (verismo.) Having been one of the few operatic composers to successfully use both Italian and German operatic techniques, Puccini is regarded as the successor of Giuseppe Verdi.

Here's "O mio babbino caro" interpreted by Montserrat Caballe in concert, Munich, 1990.

 

Below, Puccini's "Nessun dorma" from Turandot, interpreted by tenor Luciano Pavarotti.



Early Life of Puccini

After studying music with his uncle, Fortunato Magi, and with the director pf the Instituto Musicale Pacini, Carlo Angeloni, Piccini started his career at the age of 14 as an organist in different local churches including San Martino, San Michele and Lucca. He then attended Milan Conservatory, studying composition with Bazzini and Ponchielli.  Initially, his leanings were towards symphonic works but Ponchielli perceived Puccini's operatic potentials and persuaded him to pursue it.  For instance, Puccini's  Messa or Messa a quattro voci (currently more widely known under the apocryphal name of Messa di Gloria) is a Mass composed for orchestra and four-part choir with tenor and baritone soloists. Strictly speaking, the piece is a full Mass, not a true Messa di Gloria (which contains only the Kyrie and Gloria and omits the Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei).

Operas and Other Compositions

 

Puccini's operas combine exotic plots with elements of verismo (realism). His first success came with Manon Lescaut at Turin in 1893. His most famous work, La Boheme, premiered in Turin on 1st of February 1896 at the Teatro Regio, conducted by the 28-year-old Arturo Toscanini. Since then, it has become part of the standard Italian opera repertory and is one of the most frequently performed operas worldwide. It's the story of the lives and loves of four hard-up young artists and intellectuals in Paris in the 1830s. 

In the realm of opera, few can match Puccini's ability in dramatic situation which touches the hearts of his listeners. He wrote with equal skill and sensitivity for the orchestra, making every note and chord, every instrument, highlight the drama. The combined effect of music and song is pure theatrical magic. Two of his melodies are regularly included in record: 'Nessun dorma' in Turandot popularised by Luciano Pavarotti, and 'O mio babbino car' from Gianni Schicchi, popular version sung by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. 

 

Puccini's other works aside from the operas include choral, orchestral and chamber music.  

Puccini's Legacy

Puccini died 29th November 1924, aged 66, after surgery for throat cancer. He left Turandot unfinished, complete by Franco Alfano. He was a dominant figure in Italian music in his day.Although it's been said he lacked the nobility of Verdi, he had a strong gift for melody and dramatic effect which few composers can equal. He had tremendous mass appeal through his operas, with excellent audience rapport.  

 

Video Credits:
Montserrat Caballe - O mio babbino caro.  Uploaded by LadyArmide. Accessed August 20, 2017.

"O mio babbino caro (Italian and English Subs) Ann-Mette Elten."  Uploaded by Kim Ho. Accessed December 22, 2016. (Sorry, embedding disallowed upon request.)

Pavarotti - Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot (The Three Tenors in Concert 1994). YouTube, uploaded by Warner Classics. Accessed December 22, 2020. 

Interesting Listening:

Puccini - Messa di Glora (full mass). YouTube, uploaded by Valter Oberding. Accessed October 27, 2022.

Interesting Readings: 

 

Giacomo Puccini. en.wikipedia.org. 

Giacomo Puccini: Messa di Gloria / Messa a quattro voci, Tosca, and Turandot.  Accessed October 27, 2022.

Resources:

 

Sadie, Stanley, Ed.The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, New Updated Edition.  London: Macmillan Publishers, 1994

Sadie, Stanley, Ed. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd Edition, edited by Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan Publishers, 2000


 

(c) June 2009. Updated December 22, 2020. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.