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Giacomo Puccini Facts & Worksheets

Giacomo Puccini is regarded as the greatest Italian opera composer after Verdi. He composed several works that are among the great operas considered as standards.

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Giacomo Puccini is regarded as the greatest Italian opera composer after Verdi. He composed several works that are among the great operas considered as standards.

See the fact file below for more information on the Giacomo Puccini or alternatively, you can download our 25-page Giacomo Puccini worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE

  • Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was born on December 22, 1858 in Lucca, Italy.
  • Giacomo was the sixth child of Michele Puccini and Albina Magi. The couple had nine children.
  • Giacomo’s grandfather, also named Giacomo, established their musical dynasty in Lucca.
  • For 124 years, the Puccini family occupied the position of maestro di cappella of the Cattedrale di San Martino in Lucca.
  • Michele Puccini died when Giacomo was only five years old. Because he was still too young to succeed his father as maestro, the municipality of Lucca kept the position open for Giacomo.
  • As a child, he was a member of the boys’ choir of the Cattedrale. He later became a substitute organist.
  • Giacomo received general education at the seminary of San Michele in Lucca.
  • Fortunato Magi, Puccini’s uncle, oversaw his musical education.
  • In 1876, Giacomo saw a performance of one of Giuseppe Verdi’s works.
  • This convinced him that he was destined for the opera.
  • In 1880, Giacomo received his diploma from the Pacini School of Music in Lucca.
  • Through the grant from Queen Margherita and assistance from another uncle, Puccini was able to study at the Milan Conservatory.

CAREER

  • On July 16, 1883, he graduated and presented the composition Capriccio sinfonico, which attracted the attention of Milan’s influential musical circles.
  • Ponchielli, one of Giacomo’s teachers, discussed with him the possibility of his next work being an opera.
  • Puccini was invited to stay at Ponchielli’s villa where he met Ferdinando Fontana.
  • The young men agreed to collaborate on an opera, for which the libretto was provided by Ferdinando.
  • Their work was entitled Le Villi. In 1833, it was entered into a contest sponsored by the Sozogno music publishing company.
  • On May 31, 1844, Le Villi’s stage adaptation premiered at the Teatro Dal Verme.
  • The music publisher G.Ricordi & Co. helped with this premier by printing the libretto for free.
  • On January 24,1885, a revised two-act version of Le Villi was performed at La Scala, Milan.
  • The score of the composition was only published by Ricordi in 1887, obstructing the piece’s further performance.
  • The head of G.Ricordi & Co., Giulio Ricordi, commissioned Giacomo and Fontana for a second opera, which resulted in Edgar.
  • The duo began the piece in 1884, with Fortana creating the scenario for the libretto.
  • In 1887, Puccini completed the primary composition, while the orchestration was finished in 1888.
  • On April 21, 1889, Edgar was premiered at La Scala with a lukewarm reception. After its third performance, Edgar went into revision.
  • The revised version was then performed at Teatro del Giglio on September 5, 1891.
  • The work went through several more revisions but did not achieve much popularity.
  • Because of the unsuccessful Edgar, Ricordi’s associates suggested that he drop Puccini. Ricordi continued Puccini’s allowance and stayed with him until his next opera.
  • With Ricordi’s support, Puccini was sent to Bayreuth, Germany, to hear the Die Meistersinger of Wagner.
  • Upon his return, he presented his plan for Manon Lescaut. The piece was based on a famous novel by Antoine-François.
  • Unlike his first two operas, he did not want to work with any librettist for Manon Lescaut.
  • Puccini carefully chose the subjects for his operas. He spent a considerable amount of time preparing the librettos.
  • Giacomo’s operas have a dominating dramatic nature.
  • He sympathizes with his audience to write pieces that will move them and assure his success.
  • The dramatically alive score of Manon Lescaut foreshadows the refinements he achieved in his mature operas Tosca, La Bohème, Madam Butterfly, and La fanciulla del West.
  • These four works tell of a touching love story, centering on the feminine protagonist and ending tragically.
  • Puccini worked with the writers Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa for Butterfly, Bohème, and Tosca.
  • In 1903, Giacomo was involved in a car crash and was seriously injured.
  • Medical examinations also revealed that he had a form of diabetes.
  • Because he was under treatment for several months, his completion of Madam Butterfly was slowed.
  • On December 10, 1910, La fanciulla premiered at New York’s Metropolitan.
  • This work was very successful, but it also ended Puccini’s mature-opera period.
  • Puccini had always been interested in contemporary compositions. He studied the works of Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, and Arnold Schoenberg.
  • Il trittico, released in 1918 in New York, was a result of his studies.
  • Il trittico are three one-act operas that are stylistically individual. The Il tabarro was melodramatic, Suor Angelica was sentimental, and Gianni Schicchi was comic.

PERSONAL LIFE

  • Soon after Giacomo’s mother died, he fled with Elvira Gemignani, a married woman.
  • Even though their union generated a massive scandal, the couple lived in Monza, where their son was born.
  • In 1890, the couple moved to Milan and to Torre del Lago, Tuscany, in the next year.
  • In 1904, Giacomo and Elvira were married after the death of Elvira’s former husband.
  • Elvira, however, was a justifiably jealous woman. This caused another scandal in their family.

DEATH AND LEGACY

  • Puccini’s last opera was Turandot, was his only Italian opera written in the Impressionistic style.
  • Before he was able to finish the piece, he traveled to Brussels for surgery concerning his throat cancer. A few days later, he died.
  • Arturo Toscanini conducted the posthumous performance of Turandot on April 25, 1926. He ended the opera at the point that Puccini reached before his death.
  • Franco Alfano created two final scenes for the piece using Giacomo’s sketches.
  • The funeral service for Puccini was held at La Scala. His body was then taken back to Torre del Lago.
  • Torre del Lago later became the Puccini Pantheon, which also became the burial site of Elvira and Antonio, their son.
  • Puccini’s house was turned into an archive and a museum.
  • Most of Giacomo’s operas illustrated a theme: “He who has lived for love has died for love.”
  • Puccini combined pity and compassion for his heroines with a streak of sadism.
  • Puccinian types of opera often have restricted scope, and most possess strong emotional appeal.
  • Each opera written by Giacomo had a distinctive ambiance.
  • Puccini believed that an opera should also contain contemplation, moments of repose, and lyrics.
  • He invented an original type of melody for each moment. The melodies were radiant and passionate but also marked with underlying morbidity.
  • His works are seen to reflect the persistent melancholy he suffered in his personal life.
  • Puccini’s operas are self-evident and uncomplicated, enabling spectators to comprehend what is happening on the stage even if they don’t understand the words.
  • Giacomo rooted his diatonic melody concepts in traditional 19th-century Italian opera. His orchestral and harmonic style, however, indicates his knowledge of contemporary developments like those of Stravinsky and the Impressionists.
  • Puccini sustained the old-fashioned vocal style of Italian opera and also gave the orchestra a more active role.

Giacomo Puccini Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Giacomo Puccini across 25 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Giacomo Puccini worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Giacomo Puccini who is regarded as the greatest Italian opera composer after Verdi. He composed several works that are among the great operas considered as standards.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Career’s Legacy
  • Puccini Dynasty
  • Blank Sheets
  • Musically Defined
  • Translated Puccini
  • Places of Theater
  • The Opera
  • Behind the Great
  • On the Scene
  • Throat on Fire

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