Giacomo Puccini is called a brilliant opera maestro. He is one of the three most performed music composers in the world. They talk about him as the brightest composer of the "verismo" direction.
Childhood and youth
He was born on December 22, 1858 in the small town of Lucca. He had a difficult fate. When he was 5 years old, his father died tragically. He gave him a love of music. The father was a hereditary musician. After the death of his father, all the problems of providing for and raising eight children fell on the mother's shoulders.
The musical education of the guy was carried out by his uncle Fortunato Maggi. He taught at the Lyceum, and was also the head of the court chapel. From the age of 10, Puccini sang in the church choir. In addition, he skillfully played the organ.
Puccini pursued one dream from adolescence - he wanted to hear the compositions of Giuseppe Verdi. His dream came true at the age of 18. Then Giacomo, together with his comrades, went to Pisa to listen to Verdi's opera Aida. It was a long journey, 40 kilometers long. When he heard the beautiful creation of Giuseppe, he did not regret the spent efforts. After that, Puccini realized in which direction he wanted to develop further.
In 1880 he came one step closer to his dream. He then became a student at the prestigious Milan Conservatory. He spent 4 years at the school. At this time, his relative, Nicolao Cheru, was engaged in providing for the Puccini family. Actually, he paid for Giacomo's education.
The creative path and music of the composer Giacomo Puccini
On the territory of Milan, he wrote his first work. We are talking about the opera "Willis". He wrote the work in order to take part in a local music competition. He did not manage to win, but the competition gave him something more. He attracted the attention of the director of the publishing house, Giulio Ricordi, who published the composers' scores. Almost all the works that came out of Puccini's pen were published at the Ricordi institution. "Willis" was staged at the local theater. The opera was warmly received by the public.
After a brilliant debut, representatives of the publishing house contacted Puccini. They ordered a new opera from the composer. It was not the best period for writing a musical composition. Giacomo experienced a strong emotional upheaval. The fact is that his mother died of cancer. In addition, the maestro had an illegitimate child. And curses fell upon him because he connected his life with a married woman.
In 1889, the publishing house published the drama Edgar. After such a bright debut, no less brilliant work was expected from Puccini. But the drama did not impress either music critics or the public. The drama was received lukewarmly. First of all, this is due to the ridiculous and banal plot. The opera was staged only a few times. Puccini wanted to bring the drama to perfection, so over the course of several years he removed some parts and wrote new ones.
Manon Lescaut was the maestro's third opera. It was inspired by the novel by Antoine Francois Prévost. The composer worked on the opera for four long years. The new creation impressed the audience so much that after the performance the actors were forced to bow more than 10 times. After the premiere of the opera, Puccini began to be called a follower of Verdi.
Scandal with composer Giacomo Puccini
Soon, Giacomo's repertoire was replenished with another opera. This is the maestro's fourth opera. The musician presented to the public the brilliant work "La Boheme".
This opera was written under difficult circumstances. Simultaneously with the maestro, another composer, Puccini Leoncavallo, wrote the music for the opera Scenes from the Life of Bohemia. The musicians were connected not only by love for opera, but also by strong friendship.
After the premiere of two operas, a scandal erupted in the press. Music critics argued about whose work made an impression on the audience. Classical music fans preferred Giacomo.
Around the same period of time, the inhabitants of Europe admired the brilliant drama "Tosca", the author of which was the poet Giuseppe Giacosa. The composer also admired the production. After the premiere, he wanted to personally meet the author of the production, Victorien Sardou. He wanted to write the musical score for the drama.
Work on musical accompaniment lasted for several years. When the work was written, the debut of the opera Tosca took place at the Teatro Costanzi. The event took place on January 14, 1900. The aria of Cavaradossi, which sounded in the third act, can still be heard today as a soundtrack for films and TV series.
Decreasing popularity of maestro Giacomo Puccini
In 1904, Puccini presented the play Madama Butterfly to the public. The premiere of the composition took place in Italy at the central theater "La Scala". Giacomo counted on the play to strengthen his authority. However, the work was coldly received by the public. And music critics noted that the long 90-minute act almost lulled the audience. Later it became known that Puccini's competitors tried to eliminate him from the musical sphere. So the critics were bribed.
The composer, who was not used to losing, set about correcting the mistakes he had made. He took into account the comments of music critics, so the premiere of an updated version of Madama Butterfly took place in Brescia on May 28. It was this play that Giacomo considered the most significant work of his repertoire.
This period of time was marked by a number of tragic events that influenced the creative activity of the maestro. In 1903, he was in a serious car accident. His housekeeper Doria Manfredi voluntarily passed away amid pressure from Puccini's wife. After this event became public, the court ordered Giacomo to pay financial compensation to the family of the deceased. Soon his faithful friend Giulio Ricordi, who influenced the development of the maestro's work, died.
These events greatly influenced the emotional state of the musician, but he still tried to create. During this period of time, he presented the opera "Girl from the West". In addition, he undertook to change the operetta "Swallow". As a result, Puccini presented the work as an opera.
Soon the maestro presented the opera "Triptych" to fans of his work. The work included three one-cycle plays in which there were different states - horror, tragedy and farce.
In 1920, he got acquainted with the play "Turandot" (Carlo Grossi). The musician realized that he had never heard such compositions before, so he wanted to create musical accompaniment for the play. He was unable to complete the work on the piece of music. During this period of time, he experienced a sharp change in mood. He took up writing music, but then quickly left work. Puccini failed to complete the last act.
Details of the personal life of Maestro Giacomo Puccini
The personal life of the maestro was filled with interesting events. In early 1886, Puccini fell in love with a married woman, Elvira Bonturi. Soon the couple had a son, who was named after the biological father. Interestingly, the girl already had two children from her husband. After the birth of the baby, Elvira moved into the house with her sister Puccini. She took only her daughter with her.
After a relationship with a married woman, Giacomo was attacked by angry statements from the inhabitants of the city. Not only residents, but also relatives of the musician were against him. When Elvira's husband died, Puccini was able to return the woman.
It was said that the composer, after 18 years of civil marriage, did not want to marry Elvira. By that time, he had fallen in love with his young admirer, Corinna. Elvira took measures to eliminate her rival. At that time, Giacomo was just recovering from his injury, so he could not resist the woman. Elvira managed to eliminate the young beauty and take the place of the official wife.
Contemporaries said that Elvira and Giacomo had very different characters. The woman suffered from frequent depression and mood swings, she was strict and skeptical. Puccini, on the contrary, was famous for his complaisant character. He had a great sense of humor. He wanted to help people. In this marriage, the composer did not find happiness in his personal life.
Interesting facts about the composer
- Puccini was interested not only in music. He could not imagine his life without horses, hunting and dogs.
- In 1900, his cherished dream came true. The fact is that he built himself a house in the picturesque place of his summer vacation - the Tuscan Torre del Lago, on the shores of Lake Massaciuccoli.
- A year after acquiring the property, another purchase appeared in his garage. He was able to afford a De Dion Bouton vehicle.
- He had four motor boats and several motorcycles at his disposal.
- Puccini was handsome. The popular Borsalino company made hats for him according to individual measurements.
The last years of the life and death of the maestro
In 1923, the maestro was diagnosed with a tumor in his throat. Doctors tried to save Puccini's life, even performed an operation on him. However, surgery only aggravated Giacomo's condition. Unsuccessful operation led to myocardial infarction.
A year after the diagnosis, he visited Brussels to receive a unique anti-cancer therapy. The operation lasted 3 hours, but in the end, the surgical intervention killed the maestro. He passed away on November 29th.
Shortly before his death, he wrote in one of his letters that the opera was dying, the new generation required a different sound. According to the composer, the generation is no longer interested in the melody and lyricism of the works.
