Celebrating Puccini.December 22 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of one of opera's greatest--and most popular--names: Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924). Of his 12 operas, only the first two, Le villi Le Villi (The Willis or The Fairies) is an opera-ballet in two acts (originally one) composed by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Ferdinando Fontana, based on the short story Les Willis by Alphonse Karr. and Edgar, have failed to capture audiences, while the other 10 are performed with varying degrees of regularity. La boheme, Tosca and Madama Butterfly Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly) is an opera in three acts (originally two acts) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. form the financial and artistic backbone of opera companies around the world, appearing consistently on Top 10 lists of the most frequently performed works. La boheme, for example, is the most frequently performed opera at the Met, with 1,200 performances since its debut there on Nov. 9, 1900. "Where erotic passion, sensuality, tenderness, pathos and despair meet and fuse," Stanley Sadie Stanley Sadie CBE (October 30 1930-March 21 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980), which was published as the first edition of the writes in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians and is regarded as the most authoritative reference source on the subject in the English language. , "[Puccini] was an unrivalled master. His melodic gift and harmonic sensibility, his consummate skill in orchestration and unerring un·err·ing adj. Committing no mistakes; consistently accurate. un·err  ing·ly adv. sense of theatre combined to create a
style that was wholly original, homogeneous and compelling. He was fully
aware of his limitations are rarely ventured beyond them. He represents
Verdi's only true successor, and his greatest masterpiece and
swansong, Turandot, belongs among the last 20th-century stage works to
remain in the regular repertory of the world's opera houses Opera houses are listed by continent, then by country with the name of the opera house and city; the opera company is sometimes named for clarity. Note: there are many theatres whose name includes the words Opera House ."
To celebrate the anniversary, companies are tempting opera lovers with a lavish feast of irresistible vocal delicacies--all at very palatable prices. Here is a taste: |
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