The Complete Operas Of Puccini

by Osborne, Charles

• ISBN13: 9780306802003
• ISBN10: 0306802007
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1983-08-22
• Publisher: Da Capo Press

Summary

While Puccini wrote only twelve operas during a long lifethree of them one-acters designed to be performed togetherhe has to be ranked today as the world's most popular composer of opera. HisLa BohemeandToscaare more frequently performed in the major opera houses than works by other composers, andMadame ButterflyandManon Lescautrank not far behind. What is the explanation for Puccini's enormous success? How do his operas work as music and drama? What was he like to contemporaries such as Verdi, Toscanini, and Caruso? Charles Osborne, author of highly successfulComplete Operas of VerdiandComplete Operas of Mozart,here analyzes the entire Puccini oeuvrefromToscaandTurandotto the less-often performedEdgar, La Fanciulla del West,andLa Rondine.His fourfold approachlinking biography with musical, textual, and dramatic analysisis especially valuable for Puccini, who revealed many of his personal contradictions in his music and whose sense of detail can be appreciated by close study of the scores and characters. For the legions of Puccini lovers everywhere, this guide to his life and work can serve as an ideal reference source and opera companion.

Author Biography

Charles Osborne, well-known British musicologist, critic, and broadcaster, is the author of The Concert Companion, Richard Wagner and His World, The Complete Operas of Verdi, The Complete Operas of Mozart, and other works.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 11
Le Villi	p. 13
Edgar	p. 31
Manon Lescaut	p. 55
La Boheme	p. 81
Tosca	p. 115
Madama Butterfly	p. 145
La Fanciulla Del West	p. 173
La Rondine	p. 197
Il Trittico	p. 215
Il Tabarro
Suor Angelica
Gianni Schicchi
Turandot	p. 241
Some Books Consulted	p. 273
Index	p. 275
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