Puccini biography personal life. Giacomo Puccini

29.11.1924

Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini

Italian Composer

Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was born on December 22, 1858 in the city of Lucca. Grew up in a musical family. When the boy was five years old, his father died and Giacomo was raised by his uncle Fortunato Maggi, who was distinguished by a stern disposition.

Having learned music, Puccini plays the organ in the church. Hearing the opera Aida in Pisa, the musician also decides to devote his life to composing operas. He entered the Milan Conservatory and in 1882 submitted his first creation to a competition. It was a one-act opera "Willis", and then - "Edgar".

Notable success came to the composer only ten years later. It was the opera Manon Lescaut, written under the influence of Richard Wagner and with librettists Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. The production of La bohème met with universal recognition in 1896. This opera tells about the carefree, sometimes cheerful, sometimes sad life of young Parisian artists living in the Latin Quarter.

Among the composer's later operas, Tosca, written in 1900, enjoyed the greatest success since its premiere. The music of "Tosca" is imbued not only with deep drama, but often with surprising tenderness, lyrical awe.

Four years after that, the opera Madama Butterfly appeared, but at the premiere the audience accepted it very coolly, and Puccini took the score for a complete reworking. The new edition was published three months later. The premiere of the updated "Madama Butterfly" was a triumph. The audience called the actors and the composer to the stage seven times.

Shortly before his death, Puccini notes in one of his letters that "the opera has ended as a genre, because people have lost their taste for melody and are ready to endure musical compositions containing nothing melodic.

Giacomo Puccini died in a Brussels clinic on November 29, 1924, due to the effects of a throat operation. His last act latest opera"Turandot" remained unfinished.

Italian composerGiacomo Pucciniwas born on December 22, 1858 in the city of Lukka in the family of a musician.

A descendant of an old family of musicians, the fifth of seven brothers, Giacomo Puccini, at the age of six, lost his father, the organist of the regent of the Lucca Cathedral. He studied at the local Pacini Institute and at the Milan Conservatory (with Ponchielli and Bazzini). In Milan, he performed the first opera "Willis", which was a great success. The opera Manon Lescaut received an even greater response in Turin in 1893. This was followed by an affair with Elvira Bonturi in Gemignani, who only after the death of her husband in 1904 legalized her relationship with Puccini - this connection was strong, despite numerous love interests composer. Since 1891, Puccini has been living in Torre del Lago and the surrounding area, where his other famous operas. Giacomo Puccini achieved international fame, withstood the attacks of national criticism caused by his speech against the First World War, made numerous trips abroad, including in search of material for his works.

First two operas:"Willis" (1884), on the plot of Heine and "Edgar" (1889), Milan - traditional romantic plots, developed by the librettist Fontana, were little suited to creative individuality Puccini. Nevertheless, the premiere of "Willis" at the Teatro Dal Verme made the aspiring author known in Milanese musical circles. Critics wrote about the presence in the opera of a number of bright dramatic scenes and lyrical episodes, distinguished by melodic richness. Compositerum became interested in the publisher Ricordi, who becamepatron and friend.

"Manon Lescaut" (1893), Turin, libretto by Illica, Oliva, Prague, Riccordi based on Prevost's novel "The Story of the Cavalier de Grieux and Manon Lescaut" differs from Puccini's first operas in greater dramatic integrity, diversity musical language. The main means of expressiveness is the melody - melodious, flexible, rich rithmically. In the center of the opera are lyrical scenes related to the characteristics of the main characters, with the transfer of their feelings and moods. After the triumphant premiere in Turin, February 1, 1893, "Manon Lescaut" quickly won the sympathy of listeners far beyond the borders of Italy.
"La Boheme" - 1896, Turin, libretto by Illika and Giacosa based on Murger's story "Scenes from the life of Bohemia" - ea masterpiece that might never have been born. The fact is that the composer's friend Ruggiero Leoncavallo has already begun composing an opera based on the same plot. In one of the Milan cafes, when Puccini told Leoncavallo that he also took a fancy to this story, a quarrel occurs between friends. But Puccini's stubbornness and purposefulness were so great that he went to break with his colleague, but did not back down from his intention. Opera Leoncavallo appeared a year later, but could not withstand comparison with the work of Puccini.

The libretto differs in many ways from the sensational novel by Murger, published in 1851. If in the original source the narration is conducted as if by an ironic detached observer (which is also reflected in the title of the “scene”), then in the opera everything sounds more lyrical and intimate. The image of the heroine combined the features of the heroines of the novel - the typical Parisian midi Mimi and the charming heroine of the story "Francine's Clutch".

The absolute melodic masterpieces include the entire large lyrical scene acquaintance of the main characters in the 1st act, consisting of 2 arias of Rudolf and Mimi ("Che gelida manina" and "Mi chiamano Mimi") and their duet framing. There are a number of brightest melodic episodes in the opera - Musetta's waltz from the 2nd act, Collin's touching ariose episode of "farewell to the cloak" "Vecchia zimara, senti" from the 4th. Can not leave anyone indifferent and the final scene of the death of the heroine.

A fairly restrained reception at the premiere (typical of many innovative works) quickly grew into success, and success is not fleeting and accidental, but lasting and unconditional.

The premiere performance of La bohème was conducted by Arturo Toscanini, with whom the composer had a strong creative friendship in the future. The opera soon crossed the borders of Italy. Already in 1897, the English premiere took place in Manchester, the German premiere at the Berlin Kroll Opera, the Austrian at the Theater an der Wien, and the American in Los Angeles.In the same year, Bohemia also performed on the Russian stage at the Mammoth Moscow Private Russian Opera (Tsvetkova and Sekar-Rozhansky were in the main roles). Tsvetkova was a wonderful interpreter of the image of Mimi. According to Chaliapin's wife, great singer cried at the opera's dress rehearsal during the final scene. Among the Russian productions of the beginning of the century, the premiere of 1911 in BT should be especially noted. This performance was the only directorial work of Sobinov, he also performed the part of Rudolf, and the wonderful singer Nezhdanova played the role of Mimi.

"Tosca" - libretto by Giacosa and Illika based on the drama by Sardou. The premiere of Tosca took place in Rome on January 14, 1900. OperaPuccinithe supporters of the verist direction, who were attracted by the frantic drama of individual scenes, were raised to the shield. But this is not what determined the success of "Tosca" with the public - the beautiful, expressive music, inextricably linked with the action, conquered. In one year, "Tosca" bypassed the largest theaters.

The final act starts out quite calmly. Behind the scenes, the early morning song of a shepherd boy sounds. The scene of this action is the roof of the prison castle of Sant'Angelo in Rome, where Cavaradossi is to be brought for execution. He is given a short time to prepare for death. He's writing last letter beloved Tosca and sings the heartbreaking aria "E lucevan le stelle" ("The stars burned in the sky").

Tosca appears and shows him the saving passes that she managed to get from Scarpia. Tosca tells Cavaradossi how she killed the treacherous police chief; and the lovers sing a passionate duet, anticipating their happy future. Tosca explains thatfor escapeCavaradossi must undergo the farce of a false execution.A calculation appears, led by Spoletta. Mario stands in front of him. They shoot. He falls. The soldiers leave. Anguish falls on the body of her murdered lover. Only now does she realize that Scarpia deceived her insidiously: the cartridges were real, and Cavaradossi lies dead. Sobbing over the corpse of Cavaradossi, the young woman does not hear the steps of the returning soldiers: they found that Scarpia had been killed. Spoletta tries to grab Tosca, but she pushes him away, jumps onto the parapet and throws herself from the roof of the castle. While the parting tune of Mario's dying aria rumbles in the orchestra, the soldiers stand frozen in horror.

Maria Callas. Madama Butterfly.

"Madama Butterfly" (1904) Milan, libretto by Illica and Giacosa based on Belasco's drama.

The success of "Madama Butterfly" strengthened Puccini's worldwide fame. His operas are staged everywhere, his name is pronounced next to the names of major composers.

"How do the Indians sing?" - the composer asked himself after watching Belasco's drama "Girl from the Golden West" from the life of Californian gold diggersin NYC. In the opera based on this plot, Puccini continues the line of Tosca - the influence of verist tendencies came out even more clearly in it."Girl from the West" - libretto by Civinnini and Zangarini based on Belasco's drama.The premiere in New York on December 10, 1910 was a sensation.Best of all, the author succeeded in strong dramatic scenes in which the characters of the main characters, Minnie and Johnson, are revealed; tense melodic declamation prevails here.A significant place is given to genre episodes, in which, thanks to jazz elements subtly woven into the music, intonations and rhythms of Negro and Indian folklore, the peculiar life of the "wild West" is vividly depicted.

The second decade of the 20th century was a difficult one for Puccini. The oppressive atmosphere of the First World War weakened his creative activity. Lyrical comedy« Swallow" (1914-16) did not become a major artistic achievement of the composer.

Having gone through many different plots (among them are works of Russian literature - L. Tolstoy, Gorky), Puccini comes to the idea of ​​​​creating a triptych - a cycle consisting of three operas contrasting with each other.

Giacomo Puccini is called the last great operatic composer. His debut opera premiered in the same month as Verdi's Falstaff. His final work was published when no one equal to him in talent was left alive, and the opera was experiencing a creative vacuum. Puccini connected the 19th and 20th century. He was the heir to the traditions of Italian bel canto and such a great melodist that he was even called the sweetener of operatic music lovers. At the same time, the outstanding maestro had an impeccable sense of the theater, believing that the music of the opera, as well as its action, must without fail be a single whole and be subordinated to common idea works.

Read a brief biography of Giacomo Puccini and many interesting facts about the composer on our page.

Brief biography of Puccini

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

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 happened that turned his idea of ​​his own future upside down. With a couple of friends, they walked almost 40 kilometers from Lucca to Pisa and back to hear Verdi's " Aida". From that moment, Giacomo realized that his vocation was musical theater, opera.

In 1880, Puccini was admitted to the Milan Conservatory. Tuition is paid for by Nicolao Cheru, his great uncle, who took care of their family. In Milan, Giacomo met the music publisher Giulio Ricordi, who has since published almost all of his works. A month and a half after the long-awaited success of his first opera, sad news comes from home - the composer's mother died of cancer. In December 1886, Giacomo's son Antonio was born. 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 her daughter Fosca with her, and left the boy to her father.

The couple with the baby was taken in by Puccini's sister. But the situation in Lucca was heating up: an illegal relationship with a married woman caused a scandal throughout the city. Even Uncle Cheru demanded the return of the money invested in the conservatory education. Unfortunately, Puccini's next opera failed. Years of wandering around 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 a tremendous success, " Manon Lesko» The Puccini family stopped needing and was able to afford expensive purchases. For example, cars, which the composer passionately loved. After the death of Elvira's husband, the legal registration of her marriage to Puccini became possible, which took place in January 1904.

At the turn of the century, Giacomo Puccini became the most popular composer in the world, whose operas were performed on 4 continents. The maestro visited their productions in Egypt and Great Britain, the USA and Argentina, Uruguay and Hungary. 1909 was marked by an unexpected tragic event Synopsis: Doria Manfredi, maid of the Puccini family, committed suicide. The reason for this act was Elvira's suspicions about her husband's relationship with this girl. The examination established that Doria was not in a relationship with men. The girl's parents sued Elvira. It took Puccini 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 swelling. 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 following days the maestro could hardly speak, 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. Inspired by the works of Boccherini Mozart wrote several of his works. His Minuet is still one of the most performed classical melodies today. Catalani taught at the Milan Conservatory. His most famous opera is "Valli".

• Puccini called his favorite heroines "little women in love." They all become victims own feelings that lead them to tragic death. They are Manon Lesko, Mimi, Cio-Cio-San, Sister Angelica and Liu.
• Critics dubbed "The Swallow" "La Traviata for the Poor". Pretty good definition. And not only because the premiere was given in the cramped circumstances of the war days. It's obvious that love story heroes is based on the same conflict, which is the basis of the Verdi opera.

Puccini's biography says that at the age of 17, Giacomo makes the final decision that his vocation is opera. Perhaps that is why he has so few compositions of other genres. He even used some of them in his operas. For example, a test of writing in sacred music many years later found its place as a cantata performed by main character in the second act Longing". The melody of Musetta's most famous waltz was also composed in his youth.

In 1883, the music publisher Sonzogno 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, allegedly because of the incomprehensible handwriting of the author. According to other rumors, this situation was provoked by another music publisher - Giulio Ricordi, who did not want to give away such a promising competitor to his competitor. young composer. One way or another, the loss in the competition did not in the least prevent the "Willis" in May 1884 from seeing the lights of the footlight of the Milan theater Dal Verde.

The successful debut was followed by an order for a new opera from the Ricordi publishing house. But its creation was initially fraught with problems: the loss of a mother and the birth of a child, a scandalous relationship with a married woman, constant problems with money. Add to this an indistinct libretto, which did not give the composer any inspiration. Premier " Edgar» 1889 at La Scala was met by both the public and the critics very cool. Puccini's musical abilities were not questioned, but the awkward plot and unjustified expectations after "Williss" disappointed many. The play only ran three times. From that moment until 1905, the composer made various changes to Edgar. And he sparingly used the discarded passages in his future works.

Dejected by this result, Puccini decided to write an opera based on a plot that would really excite him. The novel became such a plot Manon Lesko". Ricordi was skeptical about this idea, because in those years the world was already conquered by Manon French composer Jules Massenet, introduced five years earlier. Maestro this fact not only did not stop, but even encouraged. Massenet wrote Manon like a Frenchman, with powder and minuets. I will write like an Italian - with desperation and passion. Work began at the end of 1889. Initially, Ruggero Leoncavallo became the author of the libretto, but Puccini did not like his version. The next pair of librettists made the story look too much like Massenet's version. And only Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa finally completed the long-suffering libretto. The premiere took place in Turin on February 1, 1893. It was a huge success: the artists took their bows more than 13 times! And Puccini was proclaimed the sole heir to the great Verdi. Collaboration with the Giacosa-Illika tandem continued in the next three operas.

Puccini learned about Henri Murger's novel "Scenes from the Life of Bohemia" from Leoncavallo, who invited him to write an opera based on this story and himself as a librettist. But at that moment the maestro was busy with Manon Lescaut. Leoncavallo began to write "La Boheme" himself. In the meantime, Puccini also became acquainted with this story, starting to work on it with a duet of his librettists. Literally immediately, Leoncavallo also found out about this. A bitter dispute between the two composers began in the Milanese press, which led to a cooling of the former friendship. In one of the interviews, Puccini wisely remarked that the public would judge them. Work on the opera was nervous, the composer almost quarreled with the authors of the libretto - he demanded too many alterations. And he even wrote poems for 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 " bohemia to replicate the success of its predecessor. The audience liked the opera, but the reviews of critics were rather restrained.

Theatrical Europe applauded Sarah Bernard, who shone 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 captivating and dramatic that even Verdi became interested in it. Puccini personally met with the playwright to agree on the exclusive right to create an opera based on his play. Scrupulous work was carried out during 1898-99. The music in "Tosca" is so closely connected with the drama that the characters are in dialogue almost all the time, 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 at the Roman theater Costanzi debuted " Yearning". And again, the reaction of the public and critics was divided: the opera was called too naturalistic.

Puccini was waiting for the next work main theater Italy - La Scala. Premiere " Madama Butterfly» February 17, 1904 was the most deafening failure in the life of the maestro. Its cause was not ingenious music, but banal things: the intrigues of competitors (the publisher of Sonzogno was bribed by an opera clack, who simply “booted” bows), and an hour and a half second act, which turned out to be too long and tiring for the Milanese public. Puccini withdrew the opera from the repertoire and began reworking it. We owe this decision to the appearance of one of the best scenes in art, when Butterfly waits all night for Pinkerton. The opera became a three-act opera and successfully experienced its second premiere in Brescia on May 28 of the same year.

According to Puccini's biography, in January 1907 the composer traveled to New York for a production of Madama Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera. One evening, he attended a performance based on the play by David Belasco "Girl from the Golden West", which shocked him. He caught fire with the idea of ​​an opera based on this plot, and Ricordi received from the playwright the right to create it. The composer, with his usual thoroughness, worked with Carlo Zangarini on the libretto, then set about writing music, but the story of Doria Manfredi interrupted his work for a long time. The premiere at the Metropolitan Opera took place on December 10, 1910 with a truly American scale. Conducted by Arturo Toscanini, one of the main parts was performed by Enrico Caruso. An unprecedented advertising company. First European composer of this level gave a premiere not in one of the theaters of his country, but on another continent, where the action of the opera takes place. Puccini combined the traditions of Italian performance with folk American melody, which could not but bribe the New York audience.

After the USA A girl from the West» began to put European theaters. Arriving to prepare the Vienna premiere, Puccini receives an offer from the leaders of the famous Karl Theater for a substantial reward to try his hand at operetta. But this, at first glance, easy genre, the maestro did not succumb. He began working with the Italian librettist Giuseppe Adami to remake The Swallow into an opera. The work was delayed due to the First World War. The performance took place on March 27, 1917 on neutral territory - in Monte Carlo. A few months later the opera was performed in Italy. Puccini tried to edit it several times, but the original version still received the most recognition.

Back in 1910, the composer conceived the idea of ​​writing several one-act operas echoing Dante's trilogy: horrors, mysticism and farce. Thus was born Triptych", whose first opera," Cloak"was a human hell," Sister Angelica"- purgatory, and" Gianni Schicchi"- paradise. The premiere of all three operas took place on December 14, 1918 and for the first time - without the presence of the maestro. Under the conditions of hostilities, he considered it prudent not to make a transatlantic voyage. At the debut performance, "Cloak" gained the greatest fame, but over time, "Gianni Schicchi" became the leader of the "Triptych".

In 1920, Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simone advised the maestro to pay attention to Carlo Gozzi's play " Turandot". Puccini was incredibly fired up by this story - he had never written anything like it. By the autumn of 1920, a complete scenario plan for the opera was ready. However, the work went on with varying success: periods of enthusiasm and inspiration alternated with periods of breakdown and depression. Nevertheless, by the spring of 1924, the opera was written and fully orchestrated, down to Liu's aria. Further, the composer faced a problem, the solution of which he pondered until last day own life. How to finish an opera happy ending was believable even after Liu's self-sacrifice in the name of love? Puccini left sketches and drafts of the last duet of Calaf and Turandot. According to them, his friend Franco Alfano completed the opera. However, at its first performance at La Scala on April 25, 1926, Toscanini put down his baton after Liu's aria and, addressing the audience, reported that it was at this point that "death snatched the pen from the maestro's hands." Only the second performance was performed with an ending created by Alfano.

The extraordinary fate of an outstanding musician served as the basis for several biopics created in different time. All of them are called "Puccini". The picture of 1953 with Gabriel Ferzetti in the title role draws a mocking rather than believable image of the composer. The script greatly distorted the circumstances of life and the personality of the maestro. In 1973, a 5-episode Italian TV movie was released (Puccini - Alberto Lionello), and in 1984 - an English TV movie, which focuses on the scandalous story of Doria Manfredi (starring Robert Stevens).

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the composer, a two-part television film was shown, where the role of the maestro was played by Alessio Boni. The film was made in 2008 in collaboration with the Puccini Museum in Lucca. It is a retrospective major events in the fate of the composer and the details of the last months of his life. Puccini appears charming, cheerful, emotional, sincere and generous - the way many of his contemporaries described him.

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

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

• "Redemption"
• "Roman Adventure"
• "007: Quantum of Solace"
• "Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation"
• "Taste of life"

The best film adaptations of Puccini's operas:

• Tosca, 2011, Covent Garden performance with Angela Georgiou and Jonas Kaufmann.
• "La Boheme", 2008, a film with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon.
• "Madama Butterfly", 1995, a film with Yung Huang and Richard Troxell.
• "Tosca", 1992, a film shot in real places opera performances, with Catherine Malfitano and Placido Domingo.
• "Turandot", 1987, performance by the Metropolitan Opera with Eva Marton and Placido Domingo.
• Tosca, 1956, a film with Franca Duval (Maria Canilla sings) and Franco Corelli.

Start a career in the shadow of Verdi, Wagner, the growing verists and, without joining any of the currents, lay your own unique creative way only a true genius could. - the composer, with whose departure the history of Italian opera ended. An art based on lyrics, broad melody and the beauty of the human voice. And it is so symbolic that this story remained unfinished, like his Turandot.

Video: watch a film about Giacomo Puccini

Date of birth: December 22, 1858
Place of birth: Lucca
Country: Italy
Date of death: November 29, 1924

Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (Italian: Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini) is a great Italian opera composer.

Puccini was born in Lucca, into a musical family. Five-year-old Puccini was sent to study with his uncle Fortunato Maggi. Subsequently, Puccini received a position as church organist and choirmaster. opera composer he wanted to be when he first heard a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida in Pisa.

For four years Puccini studied at the Milan Conservatory. In 1882 he participated in the competition of one-act operas. His opera Le Villis was staged in 1884 at the Teatro dal Verme and attracted the attention of Giulio Ricordi, head of an influential publishing house specializing in scores. Ricordi commissioned Puccini a new opera, Edgar.

His third opera, Manon Lescaut, completed in 1893, was a huge success. The same opera marks the start of Puccini's work with librettists Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.

Puccini's next opera, La bohème (based on the novel by Henri Murger), brought Puccini worldwide fame.

La Boheme was followed by Tosca, which premiered at the turn of the century, in 1900.

February 17, 1904 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Giacomo Puccini presented his new opera Madama Butterfly (Cio-chio-san) ("Madama Butterfly", based on the play by David Belasco). Despite the participation of outstanding singers Rosina Storchio, Giovanni Zenatello, Giuseppe de Luca, the performance failed. Friends persuaded Puccini to rework his work, and on main party invite Solomeya Krushelnitskaya. On May 29, on the stage of the Grande Theater in Brescia, the premiere of the updated Madama Butterfly took place, this time triumphant. The audience called the actors and the composer to the stage seven times.

After that, new operas began to appear less frequently. In 1910, Puccini completed the opera The Girl from the West, which he later speaks of as his most powerful work. An attempt to write an operetta (obviously due to the incredible popularity of the genre at that time) ended in failure. In 1917, Puccini completed the reworking of his operetta into the opera The Swallow.

In 1918, the premiere of the opera Triptych took place. This work consists of three one-act operas (in the Parisian style of grand guignol: horrors, sentimental tragedy and farce. The last, farcical part, called "Gianni Schicchi", gained fame and is sometimes performed on the same evening with Mascagni's opera "Country Honor" , or with Leoncavallo's opera Pagliacci.

Puccini died in 1924 in a Brussels clinic. The last act of his last opera (Turandot) remained unfinished. There are several versions of the ending, the version written by Franco Alfano being the most commonly performed. At the premiere of this opera, the conductor, a close friend of the composer, Arturo Toscanini, stopped the orchestra at the place where the part written by Alfano began. Putting down his baton, the conductor turned to the audience and said, "Here the opera ends, because at that moment the maestro died."

Unusually gifted melodically, Puccini firmly followed his conviction that music and action in opera should be inseparable. Due to the richness of melodies, Puccini's operas, along with operas by Verdi and Wagner, are the most frequently performed operas in the world. A rare opera house today decides to compile the repertoire of the season without including at least one work by this composer.

The outstanding Italian composer Giacomo Puccini was a hereditary musician. For two centuries, this profession was passed down in the Puccini family from generation to generation. Giacomo got his name in honor of his great-great-grandfather - the first composer in their family. The boy was destined to glorify the galaxy of Puccini musicians. And he did it with his operas Tosca, Cio-Cio-San, La bohème, Turandot.

Puccini. Yearning

While working on the opera "La Boheme", a kind of circle of Puccini's friends formed, called the "Club of Bohemia". The composer and his comrades gathered in the forest hut in the evenings by the light of kerosene lamps, played cards or told stories. funny stories. There was also a piano, and often the owner, in the presence of his partners, took up the work that fascinated him, asking their advice on this or that musical detail.

Everything was fine, but the hunting season came, and at dawn the composer often went to the lake with a double-barreled shotgun over his shoulders, instead of sitting down at the piano. This caused concern for the publisher of the future opera, and especially for the maestro's wife. To save himself from her reproaches, the composer indulged in tricks: once he specially invited a certain young pianist, who, to avert his eyes, had to play melodies from La bohème in the morning, while Puccini himself disappeared on a hunt.

Once a young acquaintance of the composer Puccini, a very mediocre musician, said:

You are already old, Giacomo. Perhaps I will write a funeral march for your funeral and, in order not to be late, I will start tomorrow.

Well, write, - Puccini sighed. - I'm only afraid that this will be the first time that a funeral is booed.

Giacomo Puccini was a great optimist. One day he broke his leg and ended up in the hospital. A couple of days later, friends visited him. After greeting, Puccini said cheerfully:

I'm so happy friends! I have already begun to build a monument!

Don't talk nonsense, what a stupid joke?!

I'm not joking at all, - the composer answered and showed his leg in plaster.

Puccini was a great wit and never climbed into his pocket for a word.

Once one of his close acquaintances - a very mediocre composer - decided to joke and said to Puccini:

Giacomo, you are already old. I'll write, perhaps, a funeral march to your funeral!

Well, write, - agreed Puccini. - But you're lazy, you don't like to work, I'm afraid you won't have time...

And I, in order not to be late, will start tomorrow, - the friend replied caustically.

I wish you good luck, - Puccini nodded, - and I think you will become famous.

Do you think?

I have no doubt, - answered the maestro. - After all, this will be the first time in history when the funeral boos!

One day, having learned about the arrival of a young, unknown and, of course, a poor composer, the benevolent and hospitable Puccini went to his hotel and, without finding the owner, left an inscription on the door: “Dear Mr. Musician, I humbly forgive you to come to dinner with me tomorrow ". The young man did not keep himself waiting - the acquaintance took place, and the dinner was very pleasant.

However, when the next day Puccini saw a new acquaintance at his dinner table, he was somewhat surprised ... A week a young man - every day! - as for work, he came to dinner to the maestro. Irritated by such impudence, Puccini finally told him:

Your constant visits, my dear, are extremely pleasant to me, but still I am somewhat surprised that you allow yourself to have them without any invitation from me.

Ah, maestro, I am so grateful to you! - exclaimed the guest.

I don't understand anything! Explain, finally, why?

Every day when I return to the hotel, I read the invitation written by your noble hand on the door. I can't erase it because I'm saving it as a precious autograph. And I also cannot but appear at your house for dinner: after all, the invitation of such a famous and wonderful composer is a law for a poor musician! ..

Once a young composer asked Puccini:

What do you think of my opera "The Desert"?

The opera is not bad at all,” I replied to Puccini with a smile, “but if I were you I would give it the name Boulevard.” Friends at every turn.

After reading another abusive article about himself, Puccini used to say:

Let the fools rage. The applause at my operas weighs much more than the swearing of all the critics!

8. invitation accepted

Once the maestro dined with a lady so thrifty that he happened to get up from the table completely hungry. The hostess kindly said to Puccini:

I ask you to come and dine with me sometime.

With pleasure, - answered Puccini, - even now!

Once, sitting in the theater, Puccini said in the ear of his friend:

The lead singer is incredibly bad. I have never heard such terrible singing in my life!

Then maybe it's better to go home? suggested a friend.

What are you, no way! I know this opera - in the third act the heroine must kill him. I want to wait for this happy moment,” Puccini replied vindictively.

At the premiere at La Scala, the soloists sang languidly and inexpressively. The tenor made a particularly gloomy impression. When it came to his aria, which began with the words "They threw me into a damp and cold dungeon," the author of the opera leaned over to his neighbor and whispered in his ear:

It seems that they not only abandoned, but also kept the poor fellow for a long time: he completely lost his voice! ..

Once Puccini broke his leg. When excited friends rushed to visit him in the hospital, Puccini cheerfully declared:

Don't worry so much, my dears! Everything is fine with me, and besides, I must proudly inform you that the construction of a monument to me has already begun.

You are very careless! one of his friends began to scold him. - Tell us what happened to you, you can't just joke all the time ...

I didn’t mean to joke, ”Puccini answered with the most serious face, pointing to his plastered leg ...

In Puccini's opera "Cio-Cio-san" there is an episode in which Sharpless, addressing the child Butterfly, asks: "Darling, what is your name?"

About ten years ago, in one of the Ukrainian theaters, the silent role of the child Cio-Cio-san was played by the son of a costume designer. And then one day the pranksters from the theater pestered the boy:

Listen, dear, you are already quite old, and you are not doing well. Since your uncle asks you a question, you must answer him. You just need to say it loudly, clearly, at the top of your voice, so that everyone can hear you.

The young creature coped brilliantly with new role. When at the next performance Sharpless asked him traditional question, the boy, gaining more air, loudly shouted: "Alyosha!" The success was phenomenal!

GIACOMO PUCCINI
biography

Giacomo Puccini(Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (Italian: Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini)Born December 22, 1858 in the city of Lucca, Tuscany in northern Italy. Puccini is a hereditary intellectual, the son and grandson of musicians. Even great-grandfather Giacomo, who lived in the same Lucca in the middle of the XVIII century, was famous church composer and conductor of the cathedral choir. Since then, all Puccini - like the Bahamas - from generation to generation passed on the profession of a composer and the title of "musician of the Republic of Lucca". Father - Michele Puccini, who staged two of his operas and founded music school in Lucca, enjoyed great respect in the city. But when this gifted musician died suddenly, his 33-year-old widow, Albina, was left destitute with six young children.

According to family tradition and at the request of his father, it was he, the eldest boy in the family, who was supposed to receive a serious composing education. For a poor widow with no income other than a penny pension, this was an almost impossible idea. But Albina Puccini-Maggi, who possessed amazing energy and vitality, did everything possible to fulfill the will of her late husband.

In little Lucca, the path to musical education was particularly difficult. Young Giacomo sang the contralto part in the church choir and from the age of ten earned money by playing the organ in the church of the Benedictine order. The art of a talented organist attracted the attention of the parishioners, and they began to invite him to perform in other churches of Lucca and even other cities. Giacomo was lucky enough to get to a smart and caring teacher - organist Carlo Angeloni. Within the walls of the Pacchini Institute of Music in Lucca, the young man got acquainted with the basics of harmony and instrumentation. Here he composed his first works, mainly choirs of religious content. In 1876, an event occurred that determined the fate of Puccini: he saw the production of Aida, the opera made a great impression on him, and that evening Giacomo firmly decided to become a composer and compose operas. However, during the years of study in Lucca, young Giacomo did not yet have the opportunity to try his hand at opera.

At the age of 22, Giacomo left his native Lucca, having received a diploma from the Paccini Institute. With the assistance of a local philanthropist, his mother obtained a royal scholarship for him to enter the Milan Conservatory. Lucca relatives also provided a small monthly subsidy. Giacomo was accepted into Italy's most illustrious conservatory, easily passing the entrance exam. Here he studied from 1880 to 1883 under the guidance of such great masters as the composer Amilcare Ponchielli and the theoretical violinist Antonio Bazzini. Among Giacomo's comrades at the Milan Conservatory was the son of the Livorne baker Pietro Mascagni, who was soon destined to become the founder of the verist opera. Mascagni and Puccini became close friends and shared the hardships of student life together.

The life of the young Puccini in Milan was fraught with constant financial difficulties. A decade later, while working on La bohème, Puccini recalled with a smile the mischievous and miserable days of his student youth.

Sensitive Ponchielli correctly recognized the nature of his student's talent. Even during the years of his studies, he repeatedly told Giacomo that symphonic music- not his path and what should be worked first of all in opera genre so traditional for Italian composers. Puccini himself constantly dreamed of creating an opera, but for this it was necessary to get a libretto, and it cost a lot of money. Ponchielli came to the rescue, attracting the young poet-librettist Ferdinando Fontana, who had not yet managed to gain fame and therefore did not claim high fees. Thus, in 1883, the year of graduation from the conservatory, Puccini got the opportunity to start creating his first opera, The Willis. Subsequently, he recalled this with a smile in a letter to Giuseppe Adami:

"Many years ago the Lord touched me with his little finger and said, 'Write for the theatre, only for the theatre.' And I followed that supreme advice."

1883 was a milestone in the life of Puccini. That year he successfully graduated from the Milan Conservatory and made his first appearance as the author of an opera. "Willis" May 31, 1884 were presented on the stage of the Milan theater "Dal Verme". This operatic debut of the 25-year-old Puccini was very successful. In his telegram, addressed to his mother in Lucca, it was reported: "The theater is full, an unprecedented success ... Called 18 times, the finale of the first picture was encoreed three times." But perhaps the most important result of Puccini's first opera work was the establishment of a strong relationship with the largest publisher Giulio Ricordi, a man with entrepreneurial scope and artistic flair. It can be argued that it was Ricordi who was one of the first who managed to "discover" Puccini's talent, recognizing the originality of his musical and dramatic inclinations through the immature forms of the "Willis".

The five years that passed between the premieres of "Willis" and "Edgar" - Puccini's second opera, were perhaps the most difficult in the composer's life. He experienced acute financial difficulties, faced with ruthless creditors. He was ready to emigrate from Italy after his brother, if only his second opera failed. A heavy blow for the young man was the death of his mother, who did a lot for him. musical development, but never lived to see the first triumphs of her beloved son.

Despite Fontana's dissatisfaction with literary tastes, Puccini was forced to link his fate a second time with this limited and old-fashioned librettist. After four years of hard work on a new opera, Puccini finally waited for it to be staged on the stage of Milan's La Scala theater.

The premiere took place on April 21, 1889 without special success. Critics sharply condemned the incongruity of the libretto, its pomposity and plot intricacies. Even Ricordi, who always passionately defended the work of his ward, was forced to agree with these reproaches.

But Giacomo does not give up. The composer's attention is attracted by the most dramatic plot of Floria Tosca, a play by the popular French playwright Victorien Sardou. Having visited shortly after the premiere of "Edgar" at the play "Tosca", he immediately became interested in this topic. But the idea of ​​​​creating an opera of the same name had to be postponed for a whole decade. Finally, the search for a theme for a new opera was crowned with success: the plot of the French novel "Manon Lescaut" by Abbé Prevost seriously captured the composer's creative imagination, serving as the basis for his first fully mature work.

By this time, Puccini's financial situation had become more stable, the years of need and deprivation were left behind. Dissatisfied with the noisy atmosphere of Milan, he fulfills his old dream - he settles away from the city, in the quiet Torre del Lago - between Pisa and Viareggio. This place becomes the composer's favorite haunt for the next three decades. He lives in a country house on the shores of Lake Massaciucoli, surrounded by beautiful nature. Here he has the opportunity to devote himself entirely to creativity, being distracted only by his favorite pastimes - hunting and fishing.

A significant role in Puccini's life was played by his marriage to Elvira Bonturi, a temperamental and energetic woman who did everything possible to create ideal conditions for him to create. For the sake of her chosen one, Elvira left her unloved husband - a Milanese bourgeois, the father of her two children. Only many years later, after the death of her lawful husband, did she get the opportunity to formalize her marriage to Puccini. Their relationship was uneven: outbursts of great passion gave way to disagreements and quarrels; but Elvira always remained a faithful friend and assistant to the composer, contributing in many ways to his success.

The years of work on "Manon" were the happiest period in the life of Puccini. These were the years of his romantic passion for Elvira, the birth of their first-born son Antonio, the years of joyful communication with the Tuscan nature close to his heart.

He composed the opera quickly, with extraordinary enthusiasm, and completed it in a year and a half (in the autumn of 1892). Puccini painted it either in Milan, or in Lucca, or in his beloved Torre del Lago.

In "Manon" Puccini already showed himself as a mature playwright, putting forward quite conscious demands to his librettists. tragic story provincial girl Manon Lesko, who became the kept woman of a wealthy banker, is typical of the European opera of the second half of XIX century. But Puccini conceived his "Manon". He wanted to focus all his attention on the experiences of Manon and her lover. Musical dramaturgy "Manon" in comparison with two early operas Puccini is more flexible, more perfect. In this opera, a completely independent melodic style of Puccini, closely connected with the traditions of modern Italian everyday song, finally took shape.

Puccini himself was very proud of Manon Lescaut. It was his "first love" - ​​the only opera that easily won success. Until the end of his life, he considered "Manon" one of his favorite offspring, the second "cordial attachment" after "Madama Butterfly".

The author of "Manon Lescaut" becomes famous musician Italy. He is invited to lead a composition class at the Milan Conservatory and head the Benedetto Marcello Lyceum in Venice. But he declines both offers, preferring the quiet life of a hermit in the quiet of Torre del Lago. A new successful discovery for Puccini was "Scenes from the Life of Bohemia" - a series of short stories French writer Henri Murger (1851). "I came across a plot in which I am completely in love," the composer admitted. Even during the period of the first performances of Manon, Puccini, with his characteristic passionate enthusiasm, began to develop a plan for the future La bohemia.

The music of "La Boheme" was written within eight months, with some episodes, for example the most popular waltz Musetta, Puccini wrote on his own text, without waiting for the next pages of the libretto. By the autumn of 1895 La bohème was completed and on February 1, 1896 it was presented for the first time on the stage of the Royal Theater in Turin.

Critics were not sympathetic to Puccini's new opera. To the credit of the Italian public, it must be said that she quickly realized the merits of the new opera - despite the malicious attacks of the reviewers. Even before the end of the season, "La Bohème" ran for 24 performances with full fees - a fact unusual for a new opera. Very soon, it was successfully staged by the largest theaters in the world, including theaters in London, Paris, Buenos Aires, Moscow, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest, and Barcelona. An extraordinary sensation "La Boheme" caused in Paris. French criticism lifted her up to heaven. In the Moscow Private Opera (Solodovnikov Theatre) "La Boheme" was shown in January 1897 - less than a year after the Italian premiere.

Giacomo Puccini - Boheme (Russian subtitles)

Puccini's innovation is perhaps most directly and originally manifested in La bohème. It was with this work that the composer realized in Italian opera a radical turn from romantic frantic pathos to a modest embodiment of real everyday life.

While "La Boheme" was making its way to European stages, Puccini was already completely captured by a new operatic idea: the time had finally come to write "Tosca", conceived back in the 1880s. Barely having time to finish the score of "La Boheme" and hand it over to the Turin theater, the composer and his wife rushed to Florence to see the drama of Sardou again with the famous Sarah Bernhardt in the role of Floria Tosca.

Already in the spring of 1896 - in between the noisy premieres of "La Boheme" - he took up the libretto of the new opera. The music of "Tosca" was composed relatively easily - on the basis of preliminary sketches and a detailed dramaturgical plan. The score was written from June 1898 to September 1899.

The premiere of "Tosca" took place in Rome on January 14, 1900 at the Costanzi Theater under the baton of conductor Leapoldo Muigone, a longtime friend of the composer and a member of the Bohemia Club. The enthusiastic public summoned the author twenty-two times! A stormy success was accompanied by the production of "Tosca" in the same year in London.

Puccini fulfilled his dream, being already wiser in his veristic searches, he brought to this new score the richness of leitmotif development, the courage of harmonic thinking, the flexibility and variety of declamatory techniques. The combination of bright theatricality, stage dynamism with the beauty and passion of lyrical chant provided "Tosca" with a long repertoire life.

In London, Puccini visited the Prince of York Theater, where the play "Geisha" by the American playwright David Belasco was shown. The composer has found new plot. The tragic story of a young Japanese geisha immediately captivated Puccini's imagination. Again Illika and Giacosa were brought in, who easily turned Belasco's melodrama into a two-act libretto called "Madama Butterfly" ("Lady Butterfly"). Puccini was extremely touched by the sad fate of the little Japanese woman. None of the opera images he created earlier was so close and dear to him.

The composition of Madama Butterfly dragged on for a long time - Puccini often had to travel to rehearsals and performances of his operas in various cities in Italy or abroad. In addition to his previous hobbies, another passion joined him: he bought a car and became a real racer. The dangerous hobby ended sadly: in February 1903, in the midst of work on a new score, the composer had an accident and broke his leg.

At the end of 1903, the score was ready, and on February 17, 1904, "Madama Butterfly" saw the light of the ramp of the Milan theater "La Scala". This time the premiere was unsuccessful. Whistles blew in the hall, and the responses of the press expressed complete disappointment. After the adventurous and pointed plot of Tosca, the new opera seemed to the Milanese inactive, subduedly lyrical. main reason The half-failure of "Butterfly" was considered the protractedness of both acts, unusual for the Italian audience. Puccini made a new edition. The renewed opera, staged already in May 1904 at the theater of Brescia, won full recognition. From now on, "Madama Butterfly" began its victorious march through the theaters of Europe and America.

The triumph of "Madama Butterfly" ended the most intense period creative biography Puccini and began a period of depression that lasted almost a decade and a half. During these years, he was less productive, and what came out from under his pen - "Girl from the West" (1910), "Swallow" (1917) - was inferior to previously created masterpieces. The choice of opera plots was more and more difficult for the aging master. Artistic instinct told him that it was necessary to look for new, untrodden paths, because the danger of repeating previously achieved stylistic discoveries was very great. Financial security allowed the famous maestro not to hurry with the creation of the next opuses, and triumphant foreign trips and passion for sports filled his time.

The last stage in the life of Puccini (1919-1924) coincides with the period of post-war changes in the history of Italy. It can be argued that after the "Swallow" Puccini resolutely overcomes the protracted crisis. It is in these later years he manages to reach new unsurpassed heights - to write the operas "Gianni" and "Turandot", to enrich the Italian opera classics with new bright masterpieces. At the same time, the composer by no means repeats his previous achievements, but finds unbeaten paths; the deeply humane, but sentimental melodramaticism of "La Boheme" and "Butterfly" is replaced by the juicy humor and satire of "Gianni Schicchi", the colorful fantasy and dramatic expressiveness of "Turandot". It was a very fruitful last flight of Puccini's creative genius.

Puccini's work on his "swan song" was not completed. At the very height of the composition "Turandot" his long-standing throat illness worsened, which developed into cancer. Although doctors hid this terrible diagnosis from him, he felt the approach of a tragic outcome.

Shortly before his death, Puccini noted in one of his letters that "opera has ended as a genre, because people have lost their taste for melody and are ready to endure musical compositions that do not contain anything melodic"

In the autumn of 1924, the opera was basically completed. The terminally ill Puccini worked feverishly on the orchestration of Turandot. Treatment with radium irradiation provided some relief at first. But on November 29, the fatal finale came: the improvement turned out to be temporary - the heart could not stand it, and the great musician died.

Puccini, 1924

Operas by Puccini:

• « Jeeps"(Italian. Le Villi), 1884. The premiere of the one-act opera took place on May 31, 1884 at the Teatro Verme, Milan. Based on the story of the same name by Alfonso Carra about the mermaids.
• « Edgar"(Italian Edgar), 1889. The premiere of the opera in 4 acts took place on April 21, 1889 at the La Scala Theatre, Milan. Based on the play "La Coupe et les lèvres" by Alfred de Musset
• « Manon Lesko"(Italian Manon Lescaut), 1893. The premiere of the opera took place on February 1, 1893 at the Regio Theatre, Turin. By novel of the same name Abbe Prevost
• « Bohemia"(Italian. La bohème), 1896. The premiere of the opera took place on February 1, 1896 at the Regio Theater, Turin. Based on the book by Henri Murger "Scènes de la vie de Bohème"
• « Yearning"(Italian Tósca), 1900. The premiere of the opera took place on January 14, 1900 at the Costanzi Theater, Rome. Based on the play by Victorien Sardou "La Tosca"
• « Madama Butterfly"(Italian Madama Butterfly). The premiere of the opera in 2 acts took place on February 17, 1904 at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan. Based on the play of the same name by David Belasco. In Russia, the opera was also under the name "Chio-Chio-san"
• « girl from the west"(Italian. La fanciulla del West), 1910. The premiere of the opera took place on December 10, 1910 at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Based on the play by D. Belasco "The Girl of the Golden West".
• « Martin"(Italian. La rondine), 1917. The premiere of the opera took place on March 27, 1917 at the Opéra Theater, Monte Carlo.
• Triptych: " Cloak», « Sister Angelica», « Gianni Schicchi"(Italian. Il Trittico: Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi), 1918. The premiere of the opera took place on December 14, 1918 at the Metropolitan Opera, New York.
• « Turandot"(Italian Turandot). The opera premiered on March 25, 1926 at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan. Based on the play of the same name by K. Gozzi. Left unfinished due to the death of the composer, completed by F. Alfano in 1926.