Giacomo Puccini: biography, interesting facts, creativity

Giacomo Puccini

Giacomo Puccini is called the last great opera composer. The premiere of his debut opera took place in one month with Verdi's Falstaff. His final work was published when there was not a single talent in his life left, and the opera experienced a creative vacuum. Puccini tied the 19th and 20th centuries. He was the heir to the traditions of the Italian bel canto and such a great melodist that he was even called the sweeter of opera music lovers. At the same time, the outstanding maestro had an impeccable sense of theater, considering that the music of the opera, as well as its action, must without fail be a single whole and subject to a single concept of the work.

A short biography of Giacomo Puccini and many interesting facts about the composer can be found on our page.

Short biography of Puccini

Lucca is a medium-sized Tuscan town. He was like this in 1858, when a son was born in the family of hereditary musician Michele Puccini on December 22. The boy got the name Giacomo. When he was five, his father died, leaving his wife Albin, pregnant with the eighth child, six daughters and Giacomo orphans. Albina's brother, Fortunato Maggi, served as organist and leader of the choir, and also taught at the music lyceum. He became the first teacher of Giacomo.

From the biography of Pucinni, we learn that, at the age of 10, the boy sang in the church choir and played the organ. In 1876 an event occurred that turned his view of his own future. With a couple of friends, they walked almost 40 kilometers from Lucca to Pisa and back to hear the Verdi "Aida". From this point on, Giacomo realized that his vocation was musical theater, opera.

In 1880, Puccini is admitted to the Milan Conservatory. Nicolao Cheru, his great-uncle, took care of their family. In Milan, Giacomo meets with music publisher Giulio Ricordi, who has since published almost all of his work. A month and a half after the long-awaited success of his first opera, sad news comes from home - the mother of the composer died of cancer. In December 1886, the son of Antonio was born to Giacomo. His mother, Elvira Bonturi, was the wife of a merchant from Lucca, from whom she already had a daughter and a son. Leaving her husband, Elvira took Foska's daughter with her and left the boy to her father.

The sister Puccini sheltered the couple with the baby. But the situation in Lucca became tense: an illegal connection with a married woman caused a scandal in the whole city. Even Uncle Cheru demanded the return of money invested in conservatory training. As luck would have it, Puccini’s next opera failed. The years of wandering in rented apartments ended only in 1891, when the composer rented a villa in Torre del Lago, which he later bought out. And in 1893, after the enormous success of Manon Lesko, the Puccini family ceased to need and could afford expensive purchases. For example, cars that the composer passionately loved. After the death of Elvira’s husband, the legal registration of her marriage to Puccini, which took place in January 1904, became possible.

At the turn of the century, Giacomo Puccini became the most popular composer in the world, whose operas went on 4 continents. The maestro visited their productions in Egypt and Great Britain, the USA and Argentina, Uruguay and Hungary. The year 1909 was marked by an unexpected tragic event: Doria Manfredi, the maid of the Puccini family, committed suicide. The reason for this act became Elvira's suspicions about her husband's connection with this girl. The examination found that Doria was not in a relationship with men. Parents of the girl sued Elvira. Puccini took a lot of effort and money to hush up the scandal.

In 1921, the composer moved to a newly built villa in Viareggio, and two years later he showed the first symptoms of a throat tumor. In November 1924, Puccini, accompanied by his son, went to Brussels to receive the latest anti-cancer therapy. The operation lasted three and a half hours, the next days the maestro almost could not talk, he read magazines and sometimes wrote something. On November 29, Puccini suddenly fainted and at 11.30, without regaining consciousness, died.

Interesting facts about Giacomo Puccini

• The city of Lucca gave the world two more notable musicians: Luigi Boccherini and Alfredo Catalani. Impressed by the works of Boccherini, Mozart wrote several of his works. His Minuet and today is one of the most performed classical melodies. Catalani taught at the Milan Conservatory. His most famous opera is The Valley.

• Puccini considered Madame Butterfly his most favorite opera, Manon Lescot as his second affection.
• Puccini is the third performing operatic composer in the world, after Verdi and Mozart. His most popular work is La Boheme (4th opera in terms of frequency). In the world top 10 also includes "Tosca" and "Madame Butterfly" (5-6 place).
• What ended creative confrontation between the two "God"? The premiere of Leoncavallo's creation took place a year after Puccini's. What are the fundamental differences between these works? The Leoncavallo opera is solved in the traditions of Verism, based on the dramaturgy of the conflict, sharp and passionate dialogues. Puccini, on the contrary, emphasized the lyricism and romanticism of the bohemian way of life. They took the work of Leoncavallo more than well, she endured several productions. However, Puccini's words turned out to be prophetic: the public made their choice in favor of his opera. And the work of Leoncavallo already twenty years after its creation almost did not appear on the scene.
• Since 1930, the annual Puccini Festival has been held in Torre del Lago. In 2008, an open-air theater with 3,400 seats opened on the shore of Lake Massachukkoli.
• According to the descriptions of contemporaries, Elvira Bonturi was an attractive woman, but she had a complex character: strict, skeptical, with frequent bouts of depression. Puccini was softer and more optimistic. He was considered handsome: tall, broad-shouldered with a pleasant low voice and always elegantly dressed.

• Puccini called his beloved heroines "little women in love". All of them are victims of their own feelings, which lead them to a tragic death. These are Manon Lesko, Mimi, Chio-Chio-San, Sister Angelica and Liu.
• Critics dubbed "Swallow" "Traviata for the poor." Quite apt definition. And not only because the premiere was given in the constrained circumstances of the war days. It is obvious that the love story of the characters is based on the same conflict that is the basis of Verdi opera.

Creativity Giacomo Puccini

Biography Pucinni says that at age 17, Giacomo makes the final decision that his vocation is an opera. Perhaps that is why he has so few essays of other genres. He even used some of them in his operas. For example, the attempt to write in spiritual music after many years found its place as a cantata performed by the main character in the second act "Tosca". The melody of the most famous waltz Musetta was also composed in his youth.

In 1883, music publisher Sonzono announced a competition among young composers for the best one-act opera. Puccini presented the score "Willis“However, according to rumors, the jury did not even consider it, ostensibly because of the author’s incomprehensible writing. According to other rumors, another music publisher, Giulio Ricordi, who did not want to give the competitor to such a promising young composer, provoked the situation. in the competition did not prevent the “Willis” in May 1884 from seeing the ramp lights of the Milan theater Dal Verde.

The successful debut was followed by an order for a new opera from the publishing house Ricordi. But her creation was originally fraught with problems: the loss of the mother and the birth of a child, the scandalous relationship with a married woman, the constant problems with money. Let us add to this an unintelligible libretto, which did not give the composer any inspiration. PremiereEdgar"In 1889, La Scala was greeted by both the public and criticism very coolly. Puccini's musical abilities were not questioned, but the absurd plot and the expectations unjustified after" Viliss "disappointed many. The play took place only three times. From that moment until 1905 the composer contributed various changes in "Edgar." And ejected passages economically used in their future works.

Depressed by this result, Puccini decided to write an opera on a plot that would really excite him. Such a plot was a novel "Manon Lesko"Ricordi was skeptical of this idea, because in those years the world had already won the French composer Jules Massenet’s Manon, presented five years earlier. The Maestro did not only stop this fact, but even podzadoriv.” Massone wrote Manon as a Frenchman - with powder and minuets. I’ll write like an Italian with despair and passion. ”Work began at the end of 1889. Ruggiero Leoncavallo initially became the author of the libretto, but Puccini’s version did not suit him. The next couple of librettists made the story too similar to the version of Massenet. Dzhakoza finalized the long-suffering libretto. The premiere took place in Turin on February 1, 1893. It was a tremendous success: the artists bowed down more than 13 times! And Puccini was proclaimed the sole heir of the great Verdi. tandem Dzhakoza - Illika continued in the next three operas.

Puccini learned about the novel “Scenes from the Life of the Bohemian” by Henry Mürge from Leoncavallo, who suggested that he write an opera for this plot and himself - as a librettist. But at that moment the maestro was busy with Manon Lesko. Leoncavallo began to write "Bohemia" himself. Meanwhile, Puccini became acquainted with this story, starting to work on it with a duet of his librettists. Literally, Leoncavallo found out about it immediately. In the Milan press began a fierce dispute between the two composers, which led to the cooling of the former friendship. In an interview, Puccini wisely remarked that the public would judge them. The work on the opera went nervously, the composer almost fell out with the libretto authors - he demanded too much alterations. And even he wrote poems to some numbers. The premiere took place in 1896, again on February 1 and again in Turin. Behind the conductor's stand was Arturo Toscanini. However, the magic of the date and place did not help "Bohemian"Repeat the success of its predecessor. The audience liked the opera, but critics were quite restrained.

Theatrical Europe applauded Sarah Bernard, who was in the role of Floria Tosca, the heroine of the play of the same name, written for her by Victorien Sardou. The plot was so fascinating and dramatic that even Verdi became interested in him. Puccini personally met with the playwright in order to agree on the exclusive right to create an opera based on his play. Scrupulous work was carried out during the years 1898-99. The music in Tosca is so closely connected with the drama that the actors are almost always in dialogue, and the title character has only one aria. This story allowed the composer to express, as he called them, “Nero's instincts,” for example, in the depiction of torture and unbridled sexual passions. January 14, 1900 in the Roman Theater Kostanzi debuted "Yearning“And again, the reaction of the public and critics was divided: the opera was called too naturalistic.

The next work of Puccini was waiting for the main theater of Italy - La Scala. PremiereMadame Butterfly"February 17, 1904 was the most deafening failure in the life of the maestro. It was caused not by brilliant music, but by trivial things: the machinations of competitors (the publisher Sonzono bribed the opera claque, which simply" bowed "bows), and an hour and a half second act that turned out to be too long and tedious for the Milan public. Puccini removed the opera from the repertoire and began to rework. We owe this decision to the appearance of one of the best scenes in art, when the Butterfly is waiting for Pinkerton all night long. The opera became a three-act one and survived and his second premiere in Brescia on May 28 of the same year.

According to Pucinni’s biography in January 1907, the composer went to New York to perform Madame Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera. One evening he visited the play “The Girl from the Golden West” by David Belasco, which shook him. He caught fire with the idea of ​​an opera on this plot, and Ricordi got the right to create it from the playwright. The composer, with his usual thoroughness, worked with Carlo Dzangarini on the libretto, then began writing music, but the story of Doria Manfredi interrupted his work for a long time. The premiere in the Metropolitan Opera was held on December 10, 1910 with a truly American scale. It was conducted by Arturo Toscanini, one of the main parts was performed by Enrico Caruso. An unprecedented advertising campaign was organized. For the first time a European composer of this level gave a premiere not in one of the theaters of his country, but on another continent, where the opera takes place. Puccini combined the traditions of Italian performance with American folk melodies, which could not but bribe the New York public.

After the USA "The girl from the West"European theaters began to be staged. Having arrived to prepare the Vienna premiere, Puccini received an offer from the leaders of the famous Karl-Theater for a solid reward to try his strength in the operetta. But this, at first glance, easy maestro did not succumb. He began working with the Italian librettist Giuseppe Adami above the remake of "Swallows" into an opera. The work dragged on because of World War I. The performance took place on March 27, 1917 in Monte Carlo on neutral territory. A few months later the opera was performed in Italy. Puccini several I tried to edit it only once, but the original version still got the most recognition.

Back in 1910, the composer decided to write several one-act operas in common with Dante's trilogy: horrors, mysticism and farce. So born "Triptych"whose first opera,"Cloak"was a human hell,"Sister Angelica"- purgatory, and"Gianni Schicchi"- paradise. The premiere of all three operas was held on December 14, 1918 and for the first time - without the presence of the maestro. In the context of military operations, he found it wise not to make a transatlantic journey. At the debut performance," The Cloak "gained the greatest fame, but over time the leader of" Triptych " became "Gianni Schicchi".

In 1920, Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simone advised the maestro to pay attention to the play by Carlo Gozzi "Turandot"Puccini incredibly ignited this story - he hadn’t written anything like that. By the autumn of 1920, the full script plan of the opera was ready. However, the work went on with varying success: periods of enthusiasm and inspiration alternated with periods of fatigue and depression. Nevertheless, by spring The opera was written and fully orchestrated until the Liu's aria in 1924. Then the composer faced a problem that he had been thinking about until the last day of his life.How to finish the opera so that the happy ending would be believable even after the sacrifices Liu in the name of love? ”Puccini left sketches and drafts of the last duet Calaf and Turandot. According to them, his friend Franco Alfano finished the opera, however, on her first performance in La Scala on April 25, 1926, Toscanini put the conductor after Liu's aria and, turning to the public , said that it was in this place that “the death wrested the feather from the hands of the maestro.” Only the second performance was performed with the final created by Alfano.

Puccini Music to the Cinema

The extraordinary fate of an outstanding musician served as the basis for several biographical films created at different times. All of them are called "Puccini". The 1953 painting with Gabriel Ferzetti in the title role paints more a mocking than a believable image of the composer. The script greatly distorted the circumstances of the life and personality of the maestro. In 1973, the 5-serial Italian television movie (Puccini - Alberto Lionello) was released, and in 1984 - the English television movie, which focuses on the scandalous story with Doria Manfredi (in the title role of Robert Stevens).

By the 150th anniversary of the composer, a two-part television movie was shown, where the role of the maestro was played by Alessio Boni. Filmed in 2008 in collaboration with the Puccini Museum in Lucca. He is a retrospective of the most important events in the fate of the composer and the details of the last months of his life. Puccini appears charming, cheerful, emotional, sincere and magnanimous - just as many contemporaries described him.

In 2008, the film "Puccini and the Girl" brought considerable concern to the composer's family. The plot is also the circumstances of the death of his maid. The film presents a version that Puccini (Riccardo Moretti) had an affair with Dora's cousin, Julia. The film received a real sequel - Julia's granddaughter, Nina Manfredi, demanded a genetic examination, which could establish that the great composer was her grandfather. The film participated in the Venice Film Festival.

Incredible dramatic power and great melodies made Puccini's music an indispensable companion of cinema. Among the most famous films where you can hear it:

• "Redemption"
• "Roman Adventures"
• "007: Quantum of Solace"
• "Mission Impossible: Outcast Tribe"
• "Taste of life"

The best screen versions of Puccini's operas:

• "Тоска", 2011, спектакль Ковент-Гарден с Анжелой Георгиу и Йонасом Кауфманом.
• "Богема", 2008, фильм с Анной Нетребко и Роландо Вильясоном.
• "Мадам Баттерфляй", 1995, фильм с Юнг Хуан и Ричардом Трокселлом.
• "Тоска", 1992, фильм, снятый в реальных местах действия оперы, с Кэтрин Мальфитано и Пласидо Доминго.
• Turandot, 1987, performance Metropolitan Opera with Eva Marton and Placido Domingo.
• Tosca, 1956, film with Franca Duval (sings Maria Canilha) and Franco Corelli.

Start a career in the shadow of Verdi, Wagner, gaining the power of the Verists and, without joining any of the trends, only a true genius was able to pave his unique creative path. Giacomo Puccini - composer, with whose departure the history of Italian opera ended. Art based on the lyrics, wide melody and beauty of the human voice. And so symbolic that this story was left unfinished, like his "Turandot".