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"There are two means of refuge from the misery of life — music and cats." - Albert Schweitzer

Giacomo Puccini

The Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini is viewed as the most important succesor of Giuseppe Verdi. Puccini was a true theatre man, who knew how to combine words, gesture and music seamlessly to emotionally touch the audience. Puccini's creative process was a tormented him. Often, librettists had to swallow a lot before he was satisfied with the text. Because of this, he only composed relatively few operas, but among those are some real masterworks. In his opera Tosca, Puccini knows how to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, and in his operas La Bohème and Madame Butterfly, it is hard not to weep in the end.
Moreover, Puccini was able to compose arias which Verdi would have called "something for the organ grinder": melodies which linger in your head and people sing in the streets. This was proven once again by his famous "Nessun Dorma", which was used for the world championship football, and his "O Mio Babbino Caro" which was used in a well-known commercial. Due to his popularity and commercial success, critics did not acknowledge his talents for a long time. They accused him of a sensationalist approach. His reputation as a lover of women and fast cars certainly didn't help with his image either!

Featured on

Giacomo Puccini
Puccini Symphonic Suites
Carlo Rizzi
Giacomo Puccini
A te, Puccini
Angela Gheorghiu
Giacomo Puccini
A te, Puccini (vinyl)
Angela Gheorghiu
Giacomo Puccini
La Boheme
Irish National Opera | Celine Byrne
Various composers
Fuck Digital (vinyl)
James Rhodes
Italian Opera Meets Jazz
Mike del Ferro / Claron McFadden / Metropole Orkest
Various composers
Sempre Libera
Eli Kristin Hanssveen/Operaorkesteret
Various composers
Italian Love Songs
Anna Leese
Giacomo Puccini
Puccini: La fanciulla del West
Daniela Dessì, Fabio Armiliato, Lucio Gallo, Massimo La Guardia, Andrea Patucelli, Marzio Giossi, Marco Voleri, Massimiliano Valleggi, Federico Longhi, Orfeo Zanetti, Nicola Pamio, Claudio Ottino, Veio Torcigiliani, Franco Boscolo, Fulvia Bertoli, Gi
Various composers
Melodies of Love and Death - Opera Senza Parole
Osiris Trio
Giacomo Puccini
Boheme
Mary Lincoln / Graham MacKay-Bruce / Darryl Knock / Tim Bruce / Ian Jervis / Simon Materton-Smith / Maria Kesselman / Nigel Planer
TBA
Tba