San d'Puccini appeared modern. Giacomo Puccini

“God touched me with his little finger and said: “Write for the theater and only for the theater,” this is how Giacomo Puccini formulated his creative credo. He is sometimes called the last great opera composer - and indeed, after his death, there was no equal to him in this field among his contemporaries.

Link your creative life It was with the operatic genre that Puccini decided at the age of eighteen, having listened to Giuseppe Verdi's "Aida" in Pisa (for this he had to walk four dozen kilometers), but the composer's fate was destined for him even before birth. In his family, the profession of composer and the honorary title of "musician of the Republic of Lucca" was passed down from generation to generation from the 18th century from father to eldest son. It was not easy for his mother, a widow with many children, to give him a musical education, but her brother, a church organist, who became Giacomo's first teacher, came to the rescue. From the age of ten, the boy played the organ in the church and sang in the choir - it was assumed that he, like his ancestors, would become a church composer and organist, but after a fateful visit to the opera house in Pisa, he decided to devote his life to creating operas, and four years later - thanks to financial assistance of a cousin uncle - became a student at the Milan Conservatory. His mentor was Amilcare Ponchielli, who fully supported the student in his desire to create operas, realizing that symphonic music- this is not the field in which Puccini's talent can be fully revealed.

In his student years, in 1882, he submitted his first work in the operatic genre - "Willis" - to the competition of one-act operas. He did not become a winner, but in 1884 the work saw the light of the ramp and was a great success - the author was called to the stage eighteen times. Giulio Ricordi drew attention to the work, and by order of this publisher, the composer created a new opera - "Edgar", presented to the public for the first time in 1889. She did not have success, later the author repeatedly revised the opera, but this did not make it more popular, and the author eventually became disillusioned with her.

The failure of Edgar worsened Puccini's already difficult financial situation: the composer's relationship with a woman who left her husband for him caused a scandal in Lucca, and this prompted a benefactor relative to demand the return of the money spent on Giacomo's studies at the conservatory. For several years, Puccini and his family wandered around rented apartments. The success of the next opera, Manon Lescaut, which premiered in Milan in 1893, helped improve his financial situation. Creating it, the composer understood that he was taking risks, because there already existed another opera on the same literary basis, which was quite famous - Jules' Manon Massenet, but Puccini said: "These will be two completely different sisters." The composer turned out to be right: both compositions have stood the test of time, and are now equally loved by the public.

mature period creative way Puccini opens with the writing of the opera La bohème, based on the novel Scenes from the Life of Bohemia by Henri Murger. Puccini worked on it with such passion that he himself created the text for some fragments (for example, for Musetta's waltz), without waiting for the librettist to do it. The plot that so fascinated Puccini involuntarily "prompted" him, who had become interested in him a little earlier - but Puccini's opera turned out to be more successful, and this put an end to the friendship of the composers: Leoncavallo could not forgive Puccini for the "stolen" idea. Critics more than restrainedly appreciated La bohème, calling it "the opera of the ragamuffins", but the public accepted it with delight. Puccini's operas captivated the audience with their melodic richness - Tosca, first staged in 1900, was no exception.

Puccini's operas were performed both in European countries and on other continents. He visited Argentina, the USA, Hungary, and visited England, where he watched David Belasco's play "Geisha" at the Prince of York Theater. This is how the idea of ​​Madama Butterfly was born. The premiere, which took place in Milan in 1904, failed, but the updated edition, soon presented in Brescia, was a huge success.

The following years are not so fruitful. "Girl from the West", created in 1917, Puccini himself ranked among his most strong works, but in popularity she could not compare with "Tosca" or "La Boheme". He tried his hand at the genre of operetta, but did not achieve success, and in 1917 he reworked the failed operetta into the opera The Swallow.

Overcoming the creative crisis is associated with the creation in 1918 of the "Triptych", consisting of three one-act operas - "Cloak", "Sister Angelica" and "Gianni Schicchi", and the last "creative takeoff" is "Turandot". Death prevented the composer from finishing the opera, and in this form - unfinished - it was presented to the public. At the performance, the conductor addressed the audience with the words: "Here the pen fell out of the hands of the composer." Later, the ending was added by Franco Alfano.

At the composer's funeral, a funeral march from his early opera Edgar was played.

During Puccini's lifetime, a critic contemptuously referred to him as the "old-fashioned melodist", but now the works of the "old-fashioned melodist" are among the ten most frequently staged operatic masterpieces.

Since 1930 in the Italian city of Torre del Lago, located near Lucca - hometown composer - the Puccini Festival is held.

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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 Sharpless asked him a traditional question at the next performance, the boy, taking in more air, shouted loudly: "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 a 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 way to music education was especially 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 was not his path and that one should work primarily in the opera genre, so traditional for Italian composers. Puccini himself constantly dreamed of creating an opera, but for this it was necessary to obtain a libretto, and it cost big 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 creative imagination composer, 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 the provincial girl Manon Lescaut, who became the kept woman of a wealthy banker, is typical of European opera in the second half of the 19th century. But Puccini conceived his "Manon". He wanted to focus all his attention on the experiences of Manon and her lover. The musical dramaturgy of "Manon" is more flexible and more perfect in comparison with Puccini's two early operas. 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 the most famous musician in 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 Boheme" was completed and on February 1, 1896 was first presented on stage. 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 made a radical turn in Italian opera from violent romantic 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 found a new plot for himself. 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 were heard 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. The main reason for the half-failure of "Butterfly" was considered the prolongation 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 was during these later years that he managed 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 brought to an end. At the very height of the composition" Turandot ", his long-standing sore throat worsened, which developed into cancer. Although the 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.

Who considered him a bad, undisciplined student and, as a modern biographer of the composer writes, rewarded him with a painful kick in the shin for each false note, after which Puccini reflexively had pain in his leg from false notes all his life. Subsequently, Puccini received a position as church organist and choirmaster. He wanted to become an opera composer when he first heard a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's opera. "Aida" in Pisa.

For four years, Puccini studied at the Milan Conservatory. In 1882 he participated in the competition of one-act operas. Not winning first prize, his opera "Willis" was delivered in 1884 in theater Dal Verme. This opera attracted attention Giulio Ricordi, head of an influential publishing house specializing in score publishing. Ricordi ordered Puccini a new opera. She became "Edgar".

Puccini's next opera, "Bohemia"(written based on the novel by Henri Murger), brought Puccini worldwide fame. At the same time, an opera with the same name and based on the same novel was written by Ruggero Leoncavallo, as a result of which a conflict arose between the two composers, and they stopped communicating.

Behind "Bohemia" followed "Yearning ", which premiered at the turn of the century, in 1900. Under pressure from the prima donna La Scala Darkla, who performed leading role in this opera, and insisting that the main character had an aria that could be performed in concert, Puccini supplemented the second act of the opera by writing the now famous "Vissi d'arte". He also allowed Darkle, a blonde, not to wear a wig (in the text of the libretto, Tosca is a brunette).

In 1918, the premiere of the opera Triptych took place. This piece consists of three one-act operas (in the Parisian style known as 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. "Rural Honor", or with Leoncavallo's opera "Clowns".

In late 1923, Puccini, who was a great lover of Tuscan cigars and cigarettes, began to complain of chronic sore throats. He was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx, and doctors recommended a new experimental treatment, radiotherapy, offered in Brussels. Neither Puccini himself nor his wife were aware of the severity of the disease, this information was only passed on to their son.
Puccini died in Brussels on November 29, 1924. The cause of death was complications caused by the operation - uncontrolled bleeding caused a myocardial infarction the day after the operation. His last act latest opera("Turandot") was left unfinished. There are several versions of the ending, with the version written by Franco Alfano being the most commonly performed. At the premiere of this opera, the conductor close friend 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 death interrupted the work on the opera, which the maestro did not have time to complete."

Style

Unusually gifted melodically, Puccini firmly followed his conviction that music and action in opera should be inseparable. For this reason, in particular, there are no overtures in Puccini's operas. The so-called "Puccini octaves" are known - a favorite and well-recognized method of orchestration, when different instruments lead the melody in different registers (or within the same orchestral group). The composer's harmonic language is also very interesting, there are moves typical for the composer, for example, resolving the dominant into a subdominant instead of the tonic, parallel fifths, etc. The influence of the Impressionist music is heard in bright timbre solutions and the constant playing of orchestral colors. Tosca masterfully uses acoustic effects to create the illusion of a multidimensional space. Puccini's melody is especially beautiful. Due to the richness of melodies, Puccini's operas, along with those of Verdi and Mozart, are the most frequently performed operas in the world. A rare opera house today dares to compile a season's repertoire without including at least one work by this composer. The exception here is Russia and the countries of the post-Soviet space, where Russian classics are preferred.

Followers

The melodic influence of Puccini was enormous. Pucciniists called his followers a famous musical critic Ivan Sollertinsky, noting that Imre Kalman became the "most ardent" representative of this movement. Franz Lehar and Isaac Dunayevsky also belonged to the "Pucciniists". In the works of Dmitry Shostakovich one can sometimes hear the influence of Puccini's style. This mainly concerns the similar feeling of the cantilena and the coloristic techniques of orchestration.

Responses and opinions of some of Puccini's contemporaries

In 1912, a very famous Italian critic, in connection with the production of one of Puccini's operas, wrote the following in his article: "It is simply a shame that the world thinks that Italian music is mainly the works of this how in Italy there are intellectual composers like Ildebrando Pizzetti."

Another critic, Carlo Bercesio, described his impressions of the premiere of La bohème (in La gazetta): “La bohème will not leave any trace in the history of the opera house. The author of this opera should consider his work a mistake.”

The publisher Ricordi, having learned about the doubts that tormented the composer during the first rehearsals of La bohème, wrote to him: “If you don’t hit the mark with this opera, maestro, I will change my profession and start selling salami.”

Illica's librettist wrote to Puccini: “Working with you, Giacomo, is like living in hell. Job himself would not have endured such torment.”

Quote you tried to forget

Policy

During the First World War, Puccini's lack of interest in topical issues did him a disservice. His long friendship with Toscanini was interrupted for nearly a decade after Puccini's remark in the summer of 1914 that Italy would benefit from German organization. Puccini continued to work at the opera la rondine, ordered to him by the Austrian theater in 1913, and after Italy and Austria-Hungary became enemies in 1914 (the contract, however, was eventually terminated). Puccini did not participate in social activities during the war, but privately helped people and families affected by the war

In 1919, Puccini was commissioned to write music for an ode Fausto Salvatori in honor of Italy's victories in World War I. Premiere of this piece Inno a Roma("Hymn to Rome"), was to take place on April 21, 1919, during the celebration of the anniversary of the founding of Rome. Be that as it may, the premiere was postponed until June 1, 1919, and was performed at the opening of the athletics competition. Although the Hymn to Rome was not written for the Fascists, it was widely used during street parades and public ceremonies held by the Italian Fascists.

IN Last year In his lifetime, Puccini had several contacts with Benito Mussolini and other members of the Fascist Party in Italy, and Puccini even became an honorary member. On the other hand, information about whether Puccini was actually a member of the Fascist Party is contradictory. The Italian Senate traditionally included several members appointed in light of their contribution to the country's culture. Puccini hoped to earn this honor (as Verdi had previously earned it) and used his connections to this end. Although honorary senators had the right to vote, there is no evidence that Puccini sought this appointment in order to exercise the right to vote. Puccini dreamed of establishing a national theater in his native Viareggio and, of course, for this project he needed the support of the government. Puccini met Mussolini twice, in November and December 1923. Although the theater was never founded, Puccini received the title of senator ( senatore a vita) a few months before death.

At the time when Puccini met with Mussolini, he had been prime minister for about a year, but his party had not yet gained full control of parliament. Mussolini announced the end of the representative style of government and the beginning of the fascist dictatorship in his speech addressed to the Chamber of Deputies on January 3, 1925, after the death of the composer

operas

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

Exploring the heritage of Puccini

In 1996, the "Centro Studi Giacomo Puccini" (center for the study of Giacomo Puccini) was founded in Lucca, covering wide circle approaches to the study of Puccini's work. In the United States, the American Center for Puccini Studies specializes in unusual performances of the composer's works and reveals previously unappreciated or unknown passages of Puccini's works to the public. This center was founded in 2004 by singer and conductor Harry Dunstan.

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Notes

Literature

• Ashbrook W., Powers H. Puccini's Turandot: The End of the Great Tradition, Princeton Univ. Press, 1991.
• author unknown, Hampton's Magazine Vol. 26 no. 3, March 1911.
• Author unknown, "The Stage, " Munsey's Magazine Vol. 44 p. 6., 1911.
• Author unknown, "New York Acclaims Puccini's New Opera, " Theater Magazine, Vol. 13 no. 119, January 1911.
• Berger, William Puccini Without Excuses: A Refreshing Reassessment of the World's Most Popular Composer, Random House Digital, 2005, ISBN 1-4000-7778-8.
• Budden, Julian, Puccini: His Life and Works, Oxford University Press, 2002 ISBN 978-0-19-816468-5
• Carner, Mosco, Puccini: A Critical Biography, Alfred Knopf, 1959.
• Centro di Studi Giacomo Puccini, "Catedrale di S. Martino", Puccini.it, Retrieved 3 November 2012.
• Checchi, Eugenio, in Nuova Antologia, Francisco Protonotari. ed (in Italian), December 1897, pp. 470-481.
• Dry, Wakeling Giacomo Puccini, London & New York: John Lane, 1905.
• Eaton, W.P., "Where We Stand in Opera," american magazine, Vol. 71 no. 5, March 1911.
• Espinoza, Javier, "Revealed: the identity of Puccini's secret lover", The Guardian(London), 29 September 2007.
• Fisher, Burton D., Puccini's IL TRITCO, Miami: Opera Journeys Pub., 2003, ISBN 0-9771455-6-5.
• Kendell, Colin (2012) The Complete Puccini: The Story of the World's Most Popular Operatic Composer, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing, 2012. ISBN 9781445604459 ISBN 1-4456-0445-0
• Keolker, James, Last Acts, The Operas of Puccini and His Italian Contemporaries, 2001.
• Gervasoni, Carlo, Nuova teoria di musica ricavata dall'odierna pratica(New theory of music distilled from modern-day practice) Milano: Blanchon, 1812.
• Phillips Matz Mary Jane. Puccini: A Biography. - Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2002. - ISBN 1-55553-530-5.
• Montgomery, Alan, Opera Coaching: Professional Techniques And Considerations, New York: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 2006, ISBN 9780415976015 .
• Mourby, Adriano, "Scandalissimo! Puccini's sex life exposed, " The Independent, July 6, 2008.
• Osborne, Charles. The Complete Operas of Puccini: A Critical Guide, De Capo Press, (1982).
• Randall, Annie J. and David, Rosalind G., Puccini & the Girl Chicago: University of Chicago Press ISDN 0226703894
• Ravenni, Gabriella Biagi and Michele Girardi, Giacomo (Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria) Puccini (ii) in Grove Music Online, accessed 9 August 2012.
• Siff, Ira, "Puccini: La Fanciulla del West, " Opera News, Vol. 77 no. 1 July 2012.
• Sadie, Stanley; laura williams Macy, The Grove Book of Operas.
• Sadie, Stanley (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, London: Macmillan/New York: Grove, 1980, ISBN 1-56159-174-2 .
• Smith, Peter Fox. A Passion for Opera. Trafalgar Square Books, 2004. ISBN 1-57076-280-5.
• Streatfield, Richard Alexander, masters of italian music, C. Scribner's Sons, 1895.
• Weaver, William, and Simonetta Puccini, eds. The Puccini Companion, W.W. Norton & Co., 1994 ISBN 0-393-029-30-1
• Wilson, Alexandra The Puccini Problem: Opera, Nationalism, and Modernity, Cambridge University Press (2007)

Links

• Giacomo Puccini: sheet music of works at the International Music Score Library Project

operas Giacomo Puccini

An excerpt characterizing Puccini, Giacomo

- AND! what fun you have, ”said Rostov, laughing.
- And what are you yawning?
- Good! So it flows from them! Don't wet our living room.
“Don’t get Marya Genrikhovna’s dress dirty,” the voices answered.
Rostov and Ilyin hurried to find a corner where, without violating the modesty of Marya Genrikhovna, they could change their wet clothes. They went behind the partition to change their clothes; but in a small closet, filling it all up, with one candle on an empty box, three officers were sitting, playing cards, and would not give up their place for anything. Marya Genrikhovna gave up her skirt for a while in order to use it instead of a curtain, and behind this curtain, Rostov and Ilyin, with the help of Lavrushka, who brought packs, took off their wet and put on a dry dress.
A fire was kindled in the broken stove. They took out a board and, having fixed it on two saddles, covered it with a blanket, took out a samovar, a cellar and half a bottle of rum, and, asking Marya Genrikhovna to be the hostess, everyone crowded around her. Who offered her a clean handkerchief to wipe her lovely hands, who put a Hungarian coat under her legs so that it would not be damp, who curtained the window with a raincoat so that it would not blow, who fanned the flies from her husband’s face so that he would not wake up.
“Leave him alone,” said Marya Genrikhovna, smiling timidly and happily, “he sleeps well after a sleepless night.
“It’s impossible, Marya Genrikhovna,” answered the officer, “you must serve the doctor.” Everything, maybe, and he will take pity on me when he cuts his leg or arm.
There were only three glasses; the water was so dirty that it was impossible to decide when the tea was strong or weak, and there was only six glasses of water in the samovar, but it was all the more pleasant, in turn and seniority, to receive your glass from Marya Genrikhovna’s plump hands with short, not quite clean nails . All the officers really seemed to be in love with Marya Genrikhovna that evening. Even those officers who were playing cards behind the partition soon gave up the game and went over to the samovar, obeying the general mood of wooing Marya Genrikhovna. Marya Genrikhovna, seeing herself surrounded by such brilliant and courteous youth, beamed with happiness, no matter how hard she tried to hide it and no matter how obviously shy at every sleepy movement of her husband sleeping behind her.
There was only one spoon, there was most of the sugar, but they did not have time to stir it, and therefore it was decided that she would stir the sugar in turn for everyone. Rostov, having received his glass and poured rum into it, asked Marya Genrikhovna to stir it.
- Are you without sugar? she said, smiling all the time, as if everything she said, and everything others said, was very funny and had another meaning.
- Yes, I don’t need sugar, I just want you to stir with your pen.
Marya Genrikhovna agreed and began to look for the spoon, which someone had already seized.
- You're a finger, Marya Genrikhovna, - said Rostov, - it will be even more pleasant.
- Hot! said Marya Genrikhovna, blushing with pleasure.
Ilyin took a bucket of water and, dropping rum into it, came to Marya Genrikhovna, asking her to stir it with her finger.
“This is my cup,” he said. - Just put your finger in, I'll drink it all.
When the samovar was all drunk, Rostov took the cards and offered to play kings with Marya Genrikhovna. A lot was cast as to who should form the party of Marya Genrikhovna. The rules of the game, at the suggestion of Rostov, were that the one who would be the king had the right to kiss the hand of Marya Genrikhovna, and that the one who remained a scoundrel would go to put a new samovar for the doctor when he wakes up.
“Well, what if Marya Genrikhovna becomes king?” Ilyin asked.
- She's a queen! And her orders are the law.
The game had just begun, when the doctor's confused head suddenly rose from behind Marya Genrikhovna. He had not slept for a long time and listened to what was said, and apparently did not find anything cheerful, funny or amusing in everything that was said and done. His face was sad and dejected. He did not greet the officers, scratched himself and asked for permission to leave, as he was blocked from the road. As soon as he left, all the officers burst into loud laughter, and Marya Genrikhovna blushed to tears, and thus became even more attractive to the eyes of all the officers. Returning from the courtyard, the doctor told his wife (who had already ceased to smile so happily and, fearfully awaiting the verdict, looked at him) that the rain had passed and that we had to go to spend the night in a wagon, otherwise they would all be dragged away.
- Yes, I'll send a messenger ... two! Rostov said. - Come on, doctor.
"I'll be on my own!" Ilyin said.
“No, gentlemen, you slept well, but I haven’t slept for two nights,” said the doctor, and sat down gloomily beside his wife, waiting for the game to be over.
Looking at the gloomy face of the doctor, looking askance at his wife, the officers became even more cheerful, and many could not help laughing, for which they hastily tried to find plausible pretexts. When the doctor left, taking his wife away, and got into the wagon with her, the officers lay down in the tavern, covering themselves with wet overcoats; but they didn’t sleep for a long time, now talking, remembering the doctor’s fright and the doctor’s merriment, now running out onto the porch and reporting what was happening in the wagon. Several times Rostov, wrapping himself up, wanted to fall asleep; but again someone's remark amused him, again the conversation began, and again there was heard the causeless, cheerful, childish laughter.

At three o'clock, no one had yet fallen asleep, when the sergeant-major appeared with the order to march to the town of Ostrovna.
All with the same accent and laughter, the officers hurriedly began to gather; again put the samovar on the dirty water. But Rostov, without waiting for tea, went to the squadron. It was already light; The rain stopped, the clouds dispersed. It was damp and cold, especially in a damp dress. Leaving the tavern, Rostov and Ilyin both at dusk looked into the doctor's leather kibitka, glossy from the rain, from under the apron of which the doctor's legs stuck out and in the middle of which the doctor's bonnet was visible on the pillow and sleepy breathing was heard.
"Really, she's very nice!" Rostov said to Ilyin, who was leaving with him.
- What a lovely woman! Ilyin replied with sixteen-year-old seriousness.
Half an hour later, the lined up squadron stood on the road. The command was heard: “Sit down! The soldiers crossed themselves and began to sit down. Rostov, riding forward, commanded: “March! - and, stretching out in four people, the hussars, sounding with the slapping of hooves on the wet road, the strumming of sabers and in a low voice, set off along the large road lined with birches, following the infantry and the battery walking ahead.
Broken blue-lilac clouds, reddening at sunrise, were quickly driven by the wind. It got brighter and brighter. One could clearly see that curly grass that always sits along country roads, still wet from yesterday's rain; the hanging branches of the birch trees, also wet, swayed in the wind and dropped light drops to the side. The faces of the soldiers became clearer and clearer. Rostov rode with Ilyin, who did not lag behind him, along the side of the road, between a double row of birches.
Rostov in the campaign allowed himself the freedom to ride not on a front-line horse, but on a Cossack. Both a connoisseur and a hunter, he recently got himself a dashing Don, large and kind playful horse, on which no one jumped him. Riding this horse was a pleasure for Rostov. He thought of the horse, of the morning, of the doctor's wife, and never once thought of the impending danger.
Before, Rostov, going into business, was afraid; now he did not feel the least sense of fear. Not because he was not afraid that he was accustomed to fire (one cannot get used to danger), but because he had learned to control his soul in the face of danger. He was accustomed, going into business, to think about everything, except for what seemed to be more interesting than anything else - about the impending danger. No matter how hard he tried, or reproached himself for cowardice during the first time of his service, he could not achieve this; but over the years it has now become self-evident. He was now riding beside Ilyin between the birches, occasionally tearing leaves from the branches that came to hand, sometimes touching the horse's groin with his foot, sometimes giving, without turning, his smoked pipe to the hussar who was riding behind, with such a calm and carefree look, as if he were riding ride. It was a pity for him to look at the agitated face of Ilyin, who spoke a lot and uneasily; he knew from experience that agonizing state of expectation of fear and death in which the cornet was, and he knew that nothing but time would help him.
As soon as the sun appeared on a clear strip from under the clouds, the wind died down, as if he did not dare to spoil this charming summer morning after a thunderstorm; the drops were still falling, but already sheer, and everything was quiet. The sun came out completely, appeared on the horizon and disappeared in a narrow and long cloud that stood above it. A few minutes later the sun appeared even brighter on the upper edge of the cloud, tearing its edges. Everything lit up and sparkled. And along with this light, as if answering it, shots of guns were heard ahead.
Rostov had not yet had time to think over and determine how far these shots were, when the adjutant of Count Osterman Tolstoy galloped up from Vitebsk with orders to trot along the road.
The squadron drove around the infantry and the battery, which was also in a hurry to go faster, went downhill and, passing through some empty, without inhabitants, village, again climbed the mountain. The horses began to soar, the people blushed.
- Stop, equalize! - the command of the divisional was heard ahead.
- Left shoulder forward, step march! commanded ahead.
And the hussars along the line of troops went to the left flank of the position and stood behind our lancers, who were in the first line. On the right, our infantry stood in a dense column - these were reserves; Above it on the mountain, in the clear, clean air, in the morning, oblique and bright, illumination, on the very horizon, our cannons were visible. Enemy columns and cannons were visible ahead beyond the hollow. In the hollow we could hear our chain, already in action and merrily snapping with the enemy.
Rostov, as from the sounds of the most cheerful music, felt cheerful in his soul from these sounds, which had not been heard for a long time. Trap ta ta tap! - clapped suddenly, then quickly, one after another, several shots. Everything fell silent again, and again crackers seemed to crackle, on which someone walked.
The hussars stood for about an hour in one place. The cannonade began. Count Osterman and his retinue rode behind the squadron, stopped, spoke with the regimental commander, and rode off to the cannons on the mountain.
Following the departure of Osterman, a command was heard from the lancers:
- Into the column, line up for the attack! “The infantry ahead of them doubled up in platoons to let the cavalry through. The lancers set off, swaying with the weathercocks of their peaks, and at a trot went downhill towards the French cavalry, which appeared under the mountain to the left.
As soon as the lancers went downhill, the hussars were ordered to move uphill, to cover the battery. While the hussars took the place of the uhlans, distant, missing bullets flew from the chain, screeching and whistling.
This sound, which had not been heard for a long time, had an even more joyful and exciting effect on Rostov than the previous sounds of shooting. He, straightening up, looked at the battlefield that opened from the mountain, and wholeheartedly participated in the movement of the lancers. The lancers flew close to the French dragoons, something tangled up in the smoke there, and after five minutes the lancers rushed back not to the place where they were standing, but to the left. Between the orange lancers on red horses and behind them, in a large bunch, blue French dragoons on gray horses were visible.

Rostov, with his keen hunting eye, was one of the first to see these blue French dragoons pursuing our lancers. Closer, closer, the uhlans moved in disordered crowds, and the French dragoons pursuing them. It was already possible to see how these people, who seemed small under the mountain, collided, overtook each other and waved their arms or sabers.
Rostov looked at what was going on in front of him as if he were being persecuted. He instinctively felt that if they now attacked the French dragoons with the hussars, they would not resist; but if you strike, it was necessary now, this very minute, otherwise it would be too late. He looked around him. The captain, standing beside him, kept his eyes on the cavalry below in the same way.
“Andrey Sevastyanych,” said Rostov, “after all, we doubt them ...
“It would be a dashing thing,” said the captain, “but in fact ...
Rostov, without listening to him, pushed his horse, galloped ahead of the squadron, and before he had time to command the movement, the whole squadron, experiencing the same thing as he, set off after him. Rostov himself did not know how and why he did it. He did all this, as he did on the hunt, without thinking, without understanding. He saw that the dragoons were close, that they were jumping, upset; he knew that they would not stand it, he knew that there was only one minute that would not return if he missed it. The bullets squealed and whistled so excitedly around him, the horse begged forward so eagerly that he could not stand it. He touched the horse, commanded, and at the same instant, hearing the sound of the clatter of his deployed squadron behind him, at full trot, began to descend to the dragoons downhill. As soon as they went downhill, their gait of the lynx involuntarily turned into a gallop, becoming faster and faster as they approached their lancers and the French dragoons galloping after them. The dragoons were close. The front ones, seeing the hussars, began to turn back, the rear ones to stop. With the feeling with which he rushed across the wolf, Rostov, releasing his bottom in full swing, galloped across the frustrated ranks of the French dragoons. One lancer stopped, one on foot crouched to the ground so as not to be crushed, one horse without a rider got mixed up with the hussars. Almost all French dragoons galloped back. Rostov, choosing one of them on a gray horse, set off after him. On the way he ran into a bush; a good horse carried him over him, and, barely managing on the saddle, Nikolai saw that in a few moments he would catch up with the enemy whom he had chosen as his target. This Frenchman, probably an officer - according to his uniform, bent over, galloped on his gray horse, urging it on with a saber. A moment later, Rostov's horse struck the officer's horse with its chest, almost knocking it down, and at the same instant Rostov, without knowing why, raised his saber and hit the Frenchman with it.
At the same moment he did this, all the revival of Rostov suddenly disappeared. The officer fell not so much from a blow with a saber, which only slightly cut his arm above the elbow, but from a horse's push and from fear. Rostov, holding back his horse, looked for his enemy with his eyes in order to see whom he had defeated. A French dragoon officer jumped on the ground with one foot, the other caught in the stirrup. He, screwing up his eyes in fear, as if expecting every second of a new blow, grimaced, looked up at Rostov with an expression of horror. His face, pale and splattered with mud, blond, young, with a hole in his chin and bright blue eyes, was the most not for a battlefield, not an enemy face, but the simplest room face. Even before Rostov had decided what he would do with him, the officer shouted: "Je me rends!" [I give up!] In a hurry, he wanted and could not disentangle his leg from the stirrup and, without taking his frightened blue eyes off, looked at Rostov. The hussars jumped up and freed his leg and put him on the saddle. Hussars from different sides were busy with the dragoons: one was wounded, but, with his face covered in blood, did not give up his horse; the other, embracing the hussar, sat on the back of his horse; the third climbed, supported by a hussar, onto his horse. Ahead ran, firing, the French infantry. The hussars hastily galloped back with their prisoners. Rostov galloped back with the others, experiencing some kind of unpleasant feeling that squeezed his heart. Something obscure, confused, which he could not explain to himself in any way, was revealed to him by the capture of this officer and by the blow that he inflicted on him.
Count Osterman Tolstoy met the returning hussars, called Rostov, thanked him and said that he would present to the sovereign about his valiant deed and would ask for the St. George Cross for him. When Rostov was demanded to Count Osterman, he, remembering that his attack had been launched without orders, was fully convinced that the boss was demanding him in order to punish him for his unauthorized act. Therefore, Osterman's flattering words and the promise of a reward should have struck Rostov all the more joyfully; but the same unpleasant, vague feeling morally sickened him. “What the hell is bothering me? he asked himself as he drove away from the general. - Ilyin? No, he's whole. Did I embarrass myself with something? No. Everything is not right! Something else tormented him, like remorse. “Yes, yes, that French officer with the hole. And I remember well how my hand stopped when I picked it up.
Rostov saw the prisoners being taken away and galloped after them to see his Frenchman with a hole in his chin. He, in his strange uniform, sat on a clockwork hussar horse and looked around him uneasily. The wound on his hand was almost not a wound. He feigned a smile at Rostov and waved his hand in the form of a greeting. Rostov was still embarrassed and somehow ashamed.
All this and the next day, Rostov's friends and comrades noticed that he was not boring, not angry, but silent, thoughtful and concentrated. He drank reluctantly, tried to remain alone and kept thinking about something.
Rostov kept thinking about this brilliant feat of his, which, to his surprise, bought him the St. George Cross and even made him a reputation as a brave man - and could not understand something. “So they are even more afraid of ours! he thought. “So that’s all there is, what is called heroism?” And did I do it for the fatherland? And what is he to blame for with his hole and blue eyes? And how scared he was! He thought I would kill him. Why should I kill him? My hand trembled. And they gave me the George Cross. I don't understand anything!"
But while Nikolai was processing these questions in himself and still did not give himself a clear account of what so embarrassed him, the wheel of happiness in the service, as often happens, turned in his favor. He was pushed forward after the Ostrovnensky case, they gave him a battalion of hussars, and when it was necessary to use a brave officer, they gave him instructions.

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 relationship was strong, despite the composer's many love interests. Since 1891, Puccini has been living in Torre del Lago and its environs, where his other famous operas are born. 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, did not fit well with the creative personality of 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 dramaturgical integrity, a variety of 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".

Absolute melodic masterpieces include the whole large lyrical scene of the acquaintance of the main characters in the 1st act, consisting of 2 arias of Rudolph 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, the great singer wept at the dress rehearsal of the opera 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(1858-1924) - perhaps the most popular opera composer of the turn of the XIX - XX centuries, the last great master of the Italian opera bel canto. His name invariably turns out to be among the most frequently performed authors, and operas have long been included in the fund of world opera classics. The artistic fate of many famous singers (E. Caruso, B. Gigli, T. Ruffa, M. Kallas, L. Pavarotti and many other performers) is closely connected with them.

Intense creative activity of Puccini lasted 40 years - from the naive-imitative "Willis" (1884) to the remaining unfinished "Turandot" (1924). The most important is its middle - the turn of the century, when in ten years (1895-1905) the composer's most repertoire operas were born:, (in Russia it is often called "Cio-Cio-san"). The librettos of all three of these operas, as well as of Manon Lescaut, which preceded them, were written by writers Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.

The creative image of the young Puccini was formed in an era when in Italian musical theater approved verism. Separate tendencies characteristic of this direction were developed in a number of the composer's operas. Simple life melodrama has always been closer to him than sublime heroism or history.

gravitated toward sadly fragile female images, Puccini was not afraid of melodramatic situations. At the center of many of his operas is the image of a suffering young woman, the collapse of her hopes for happiness and a tragic death (an archetype associated with). However, in the interpretation of such plots, Puccini invariably shows a great sense of proportion and tact. Compared to the classic examples of verism ("Country Honor", "Pagliacci"), they are embodied by more subtle and varied means. Strictly speaking, only one of Puccini's later works - "The Cloak" from the "Triptych" cycle (1916) - fully corresponds to the canon of veristic drama, both from the plot and from the musical side. The events of this opera take place on a barge plying along the Seine. In the course of the development of the plot, a stern husband kills the lover of his young, frivolous wife (a clear resemblance to Pagliacci).

In most of the composer’s other operas, either a romantic story is told in veristic language (“Tosca”), or a plot taken from non-romantic literature is interpreted romantically (“Manon Lescaut”, “Turandot”), or a romantic coloring is given to modern, but not veristic material. ("Madama Butterfly", "Girl from the West").

With a noticeable stylistic evolution experienced by the composer for forty years, the main features of his author's style remained unshakable:

• an innate sense of the theatre, a gravitation towards effective, concise, captivating dramaturgy, capable of exhilarating and touching hearts;
• melodic richness (it is no coincidence that Verdi called Puccini "the keeper of the seal of Italian melody");
• a special "mixed" style of vocal melody, combining a singsong operatic cantilena with dramatic or everyday recitation, as well as elements of modern songwriting.
• the rejection of extended multi-part arias and other major operatic forms in favor of through, naturally developing scenes;
• with the closest attention to the orchestral part - the unchanging hegemony of the singing actors.

A direct heir to the traditions of late Verdi, Puccini consistently mastered and creatively implemented the various achievements of European music. This and symphonized forms