Puccini, Giacomo

Puccini Without Excuses: A Refreshing Reassessment of the World's Most Popular Composer

Puccini is the most beloved composer of opera in the world: one quarter of all opera performances in the U.S. are of his operas, his music pervades movie soundtracks, and his plots have infiltrated our popular culture. But, although Puccini’s art still captivates audiences and the popularity of such works as Tosca, La Boh?me, and Madama Butterfly has never waned, he has long been a victim of critical snobbery and cultural marginalization.
In this witty and informative guide for beginners and fans alike, William Berger sets the record straight, reclaiming Puccini as a serious artist. Combining his trademark irreverent humor with passionate enthusiasm, Berger strikes just the right balance of introductory information and thought-provoking analysis. He includes a biography, discussions of each opera, a glossary, fun facts and anecdotes, and above all keen insight into Puccini’s enduring power. For anyone who loves Puccini and for anyone who just wonders what all the fuss is about, Puccini Without Excuses is funny, challenging, and always a pleasure to read.

INCLUDES:
_ Why Puccini’s art and its message of hope is crucial to our world today
_ How Anglo audiences often miss the mythic significance of his operas
_ The use of his music as shorthand in films, from A Room with a View to Fatal Attraction
_ A scene-by scene analysis of each opera
_ A guide to the wealth of available recordings, books, and videos

Madama Butterfly w/audio cd

The Black Dog Opera Library is one of the most popular, informative, and budget-friendly ways to enjoy all the great operas. Each book in the series includes a history of the opera, a synopsis of the story, a complete libretto in its original language as well as in English, and dozens of photographs and drawings depicting great scenes, singers, performances, and more. Each book also includes an excellent Angel/EMI recording of the entire opera on two CDs, as well as commentary from experts in the field who guide you through the music as you listen. All of this for less than twenty dollars!

Puccini: A Biography

Descended from four generations of distinguished composers and organists, Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was driven by family tradition and an ambitious mother to pursue a career that brought him worldwide recognition as the greatest composer of Italian opera after Giuseppe Verdi. But behind the brilliant creator of such lasting works as La Boheme, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La Fanciulla del West, La Rondine, and Turandot, there was a person racked with indecision, self-doubt, bouts of depression, and private misfortunes.

In this beautifully written work, Mary Jane Phillips-Matz brings to life both the man and his circle. Setting Puccini's intriguing story within the worlds of his beloved Tuscany and the cutthroat opera business, the author follows the composer from boyhood in his ancestral Lucca, to his struggling student years at the Milan Conservatory, to his early successes and failures, to the artistic triumphs that earned him international celebrity and considerable wealth.

Filled with colorful details and anecdotes drawn from extensive primary sources as well as interviews with descendents, family friends, and colleagues, the book chronicles Puccini's personal sorrows and scandals, and recounts his stormy professional rivalries and associations in England, Europe, and the United States. Phillips-Matz also skillfully untangles the threads of the gifted artist's complex and contradictory character. She reveals a sophisticated composer who often drew upon exotic thematic material and an elegant cosmopolite who loved his several villas, expensive cars, boats, and fine clothes. Yet Puccini remained passionately wedded to the simple life of the Tuscan countryside of his youth.

Tosca's Prism: Three Moments in Western Cultural History

Giacomo Puccini's Tosca, which premiered in Rome in 1900, is one of the most popular operas in the repertory. Based on Victorien Sardou's play La Tosca, the enduring tale of love, lust, jealousy, and politics takes place in the specific setting and time of the Eternal City in June 1800, and draws on the historical events following the fall of the Roman republic. This extraordinary collection provides multidimensional images of each period from a wide range of perspectives.

Tosca: English National Opera Guide 16 (English National Opera Guides)

Here is one of Puccini's greatest hits, in an affordable version for complete orchestra. This story of love, art and death in Rome during the Napoleonic wars is today considered a classic for such arias as "Vissi d'arte" (I lived for art; I lived for love), but at its premiere in 1900 it was denounced as "a shabby little shocker," for things like Baron Scarpia's lechery and Tosca's termination of him with extreme prejudice. Be aware that Dover's scores are reprints from other companies that are now out of copyright; that means that they're older versions, and lack such amenities as English translations.

Puccini: His International Art

Turandot (English National Opera/The Royal Opera Guide 27)

Puccini and His Operas (New Grove Composers Series)

Tosca (Guide to Understanding and Appreciating Opera)

The Black Dog Opera Library is the most popular, informative, and budget-friendly way to enjoy the greatest operas of all time. Each book contains a history of the opera, a synopsis of the story, a complete libretto in its original language as well as in English, dozens of photos, and a world-class Angel/EMI recording of the entire opera on two CDs. It's a must-have for die-hard opera lovers as well as those in need of an introduction to the timeless art form.

La Boheme: English National Opera Guide 14 (English National Opera Guides)