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Sunday, September 24, 2023
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Puccini was born in Lucca, Italy into a family
with a long history of music. After the death of his father when
he was only five years old, he was sent to study with his uncle,
Fortunato Magi, who considered him to be a poor and undisciplined
student. Later, he took the position of church organist, but
it was not until he saw a performance of Verdi's Aida that he
became inspired to be an opera composer. From 1880 to 1883 he
studied at the Milan Conservatory
under Amilcare Ponchielli and Antonio Bazzini. The first opera,
La bohème, is considered
one of his best works, as well as one of the most romantic
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operas
ever composed. His next opera, Tosca, was Puccini's first foray into
verismo. Madama Butterfly was
greeted with great hostility at its opening, but after some reworking
it has become another of his most successful operas. In 1903, he
was injured in an automobile
accident. Puccini died in Brussels, Belgium in 1924 from complications
due to treatment for throat cancer. Turandot, his last opera, was
left unfinished; the last two scenes were completed by Franco Alfano.
In 2001, a new completion of the final scenes was made by Luciano
Berio.
(Courtesy of Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia) |
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The
opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada. |
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