Description
The world’s most popular opera composer, in full. Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) — born in Lucca into a dynasty of musicians — overcame early poverty to conquer the world’s stages with La Bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly: melodies known even to those who have never entered an opera house.
Colin Kendell, a professional genealogist, brings fresh research to the familiar story: the Milan Conservatory, the rise to international fame, the complicated love life, the relentless drive for perfection — through triumph and scandal to the final, unfinished Turandot, completed after his death by Franco Alfano.
Exploring Puccini through his music as well as his life, this engaging, accessible portrait shows the passion and melodic genius that defined Italian opera for the twentieth century. A must-read for opera lovers — and for anyone discovering Puccini for the first time, the perfect companion to the music itself.
The Complete Puccini: The Story of the World’s Most Popular Operatic Composer by Colin Kendell (Amberley) tells the life of Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), the Italian master whose operas remain the beating heart of the repertoire. Born in Lucca into a dynasty of musicians, Puccini overcame early poverty and struggle to conquer the world’s stages with La Bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly — works whose melodies are known even to those who have never set foot in an opera house.
Kendell, a professional genealogist, brings fresh research to the familiar story, tracing Puccini’s rise from the Milan Conservatory to international fame, his complicated love life, and his relentless drive for perfection. The biography follows the composer through triumph and scandal to his final, unfinished masterpiece, Turandot, completed after his death by Franco Alfano.
Exploring Puccini through his music as well as his life, this is an engaging, accessible portrait of a man whose passion and melodic genius defined Italian opera for the twentieth century. A must-read for opera lovers and anyone discovering Puccini for the first time.
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