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Sunday, September 24, 2023
 
 
Giacomo Puccini

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

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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