Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

Episodes

SeriesEpisodeTitleFirst
Broadcast
RepeatedComments
200701A Star Is Born2007123120081222 (R3)Donald Macleod follows Puccini's path from small town church musician to fame and fortune on the operatic stage.

Nessun Dorma (Turandot)

Luciano Pavarotti (tenor)

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Zubin Mehta (conductor)

Straniero ascolta... Figlio del Cielo (Turandot, Act 2)

Birgit Nilsson (soprano)

Franco Corelli (tenor)

Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Francesco Molinari-Pradelli (conductor)

A te

Placido Domingo (tenor)

Julius Rudel (piano)

Missa di Gloria (Kyrie)

Jose Carreras (tenor)

Hermann Prey (baritone)

Ambrosian Singers

Philharmonia Orchestra

Claudio Scimone (conductor)

Crisantemi

Martfeld Quartett

Ansia eternal, crude!... Presto! in fila! (Manon Lescaut, Act 3)

Kiri te Kanawa (soprano)

Jose Carreras, Carlo Gaifa (tenors)

Natale de Carolis (baritone)

Giorgio Tadeo (bass)

Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna

Riccardo Chailly (conductor).

Donald Macleod follows Puccini's path to fame and fortune on the operatic stage.

200802Elvira2008010120081223 (R3)Puccini's elopement with one of his pupils, Elvira Gemignani, had lasting consequences. A married woman with two children, Elvira took a brave leap when she ran off with him.

Having survived the ensuing scandal, the couple conducted their relationship in a fashion which, for most of their friends and colleagues, defied comprehension. Yet despite Puccini's frequent infidelities and her obsessive jealousy, they remained together until his death in 1924.

Capriccio sinfonico (excerpts)

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Jacek Kaspszyk (conductor)

Sola, perduta, abbandonata (Manon Lescaut, Act 4)

Julia Varady (soprano)

Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra

Marcello Viotti (conductor)

La boheme (Act 1)

Mirella Freni (soprano)

Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Senechal (tenors)

Nicolai Ghiaurov (bass)

Gianni Maffeo, Rolando Panerai (baritones)

Berlin Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra

Herbert von Karajan (conductor)

Senza mamma, o bimbo (Suor Angelica)

Marcello Viotti (conductor).

200803Torre Del Lago2008010220081224 (R3)Donald Macleod looks at the lifestyle Puccini enjoyed at his home in Torre del Lago. There, away from the glare of publicity, he could compose in peace, play cards, drink rough red wine with the locals and was able to shoot wildfowl on Lake Massaciuccoli.

Casa mia, casa mia

Placido Domingo (tenor)

Julius Rudel (piano)

L'uccellino

Roberta Alexander (soprano)

Tan Crone (piano)

Recondite armonia (Tosca, Act 1)

Angelo Veccia (baritone)

Philharmonia Orchestra

Giuseppe Sinopoli (conductor)

Mario! Mario! Mario!... Ah, quegli occhi! (Tosca, Act 1)

Leontyne Price (soprano)

Vienna Philharmonic

Herbert von Karajan (conductor)

Dov'e Angelotti... nel pozzo... nel giardino (Tosca, Act 2)

Tito Gobbi (baritone)

Giuseppe di Stefano, Franco Calabrese (tenors)

Maria Callas (soprano)

Orchestra of La Scala, Milan

Victor de Sabata (conductor)

Tosca (Act 3, excerpt)

Angela Gheorghiu (soprano)

Roberto Alagna, David Cangelosi (tenors)

Sorin Coliban (bass)

Chorus of the Royal Opera House

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

Antonio Pappano (conductor).

200804The Belasco Connection2008010320081225 (R3)With Donald Macleod. The two operas Puccini composed to plays by the American dramatist David Belasco showed him to be making real advances in orchestral techniques and the handling of characters. While these developments were largely ignored in the first of them, Madama Butterfly, the premiere of La fanciulla del West was a different story altogether.

Un bel di vedremo (Madama Butterfly, Act 2)

Mirella Freni (soprano)

Vienna Philharmonic

Herbert von Karajan (conductor)

Viene le sera... Vogliatemi bene (Madama Butterfly, Act 1)

Luciano Pavarotti (tenor)

Datele voi qualche soccorso... Addio fiorito asil (Madama Butterfly, Act 2)

Robert Kerns (baritone)

Elke Schary, Christa Ludwig (mezzo-sopranos)

La fanciulla del West (Act 1, excerpt)

Mara Zampieri (soprano)

Placido Domingo (tenor)

Orchestra of La Scala, Milan

Lorin Maazel (conductor)

La fanciulla del West (Act 3, excerpt)

Juan Pons (baritone)

Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan

Lorin Maazel (conductor).

The two operas Puccini wrote to David Belasco plays showed him to be making real advances.

200805 LASTPuccini's World2008010420081226 (R3)Donald Macleod explores how the beginning of the 20th century saw Puccini searching for a new dramatic direction. The world around him was changing and he was feeling distinctly out of step. On the one hand he was seen as the successor to Verdi, while on the other his detractors felt his music had no Italian character whatsoever.

Aranci, ninnoli! Caldi i marroni e caramelle! (La boheme, Act 2)

Chorus of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Coro di voci bianche della Scuola di Musica di Fiesole

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

Zubin Mehta (conductor)

Il tabarro (excerpt)

Philharmonia Orchestra

Antonio Pappano (conductor)

Nulla!... Silenzio! (Il tabarro)

Carlo Guelfi (baritone)

Perche mai cercate di saper... Bevo al tuo fresco sorriso (La rondine, Act 2)

Angela Gheorghiu (soprano)

Roberto Alagna (tenor)

Inva Mula (soprano)

William Matteuzzi (baritone)

London Voices

London Symphony Orchestra

Torture and death of Liu (Turandot, Act 3)

Montserrrat Caballe (soprano)

Tom Krause (baritone)

Luciano Pavarotti (tenor)

Joan Sutherland (soprano)

Nicolai Ghiaurov (bass)

John Alldis Choir

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Datemi il testamento!... Ecco la cappellina! (Gianni Schicchi)

Tito Gobbi (baritone)

Victoria de los Angeles (soprano)

Carlo del Monte (tenor)

Anna Maria Canali (mezzo-soprano)

Paolo Montarsolo (bass)

Orchestra of the Rome Opera Theatre

Gabriele Santini (conductor)

Oh saro la piu bella (Manon Lescaut, Act 2)

Mirella Freni (soprano)

Placido Domingo (tenor)

Giuseppe Sinopoli (conductor).

201301An Italian Composer2013040120150629 (R3)When Italy became a unified country in 1861, a heated debate blew up as to how culture might represent this newly formed nation. Two musicians were to stand out as emblems of that ideology, Verdi and the successor to his crown as Italy's king of opera, Giacomo Puccini. Today, Donald Macleod considers how Puccini's music came to be linked with those ideas.

Donald Macleod on how Puccini's music was linked with the ideas of the new unified Italy.

201302The Bohemian2013040220150630 (R3)Donald Macleod explores Puccini's evocation of bohemian life, La boheme.
201303Freedom Versus Tyranny2013040320150701 (R3)While on the one hand, a controversial subject matter and the musical merits of Puccini's 'Tosca' would continue to divide opinion for years after its premiere in 1900, on the other, the strength of its dramatic impact immediately struck a chord with audiences. Today Donald Macleod considers how Puccini's masterful adaptation turned Victorien Sardou's play, originally a vehicle for the actress Sarah Bernhardt, into an operatic tour de force.

Donald Macleod explores the dark recesses of Puccini's political thriller, Tosca.

201304A Sea Of Misery2013040420150702 (R3)Donald Macleod focuses on the exotic sounds Puccini created for Madam Butterfly.
201305 LASTNew Directions2013040520150703 (R3)Donald Macleod explores some of Puccini's later collaborations with writer Giuseppe Adami.
201701A Step Forward2017101620191021 (R3)Donald Macleod, in conversation with Sir Antonio Pappano, traces the developmental line of Puccini's meticulously crafted dramatic heroines. Today it's Manon Lescaut, a woman whose love of pleasure and the good life ultimately leads to her destruction.

Manon Lescaut, Mim쀀, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Suor Angelica are women who capture our hearts and connect directly with our emotions. Recorded at the Royal Opera House, seated beneath several striking portraits of the composer, Tony dips into the scores to show how Puccini created these unforgettable characters and how with each one, Puccini was seeking to perfect the synthesis between music and action, while constantly pushing the boundaries of his musical language.

Born in 1858 in Lucca into a dynasty of musicians, Puccini was destined to be a church composer. That all changed when at age of 18, he walked to Pisa to see Verdi's Aida. It proved to be a formative experience. In that moment, he determined to become a man of the theatre, writing music exclusively for the stage. He went on to produce a dozen operas in fulfilment of that ambition - the last of them left incomplete at his death in 1924 - which include La Boh耀me, Tosca and Madama Butterfly, still the cornerstones of any opera house's repertory.

It was his third opera, Manon Lescaut that marked a significant turning point for Puccini. After three years of hard graft, working with a succession of librettists on this adaptation of Abb退 Provost's novel, when it was premiered in Turin in 1893, the critics were universal in their praise, citing in particular the quality of the vocal writing.

In quelle trine morbide (Manon Lescaut, Act 2)

Anna Netrebko, soprano, Manon

Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

Cortese damigella...Donna non vidi mai (Manon Lescaut, Act 1)

Yusif Eyvazov, tenor, Des Grieux

Munich Radio Orchestra

Marco Armiliato, conductor

Minuet (Manon Lescaut, Act 2)

John Fryatt, tenor, Dancing Master

Kurt Rydl, bass, Geronte

Mirella Freni, soprano, Manon

Chorus of Royal Opera House

Philharmonia Orchestra

Giuseppe Sinopoli, conductor

Act 4 (Manon Lescaut)

Antonio Pappano, conductor.

Puccini's heroines with Sir Antonio Pappano, starting with Manon Lescaut.

201702The Bohemians2017101720191022 (R3)Donald Macleod, in conversation with Sir Antonio Pappano, traces the developmental line of Puccini's meticulously crafted dramatic heroines. Today they discuss Puccini's vivid evocation of student life, La Boh耀me, and the characters of the fragile embroiderer, Mim쀀 and the flamboyant Musetta.

Manon Lescaut, Mim쀀,Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Suor Angelica are women who capture our hearts and connect directly with our emotions. Recorded at the Royal Opera House, seated beneath several striking portraits of the composer, Tony dips into the scores to show how Puccini created these unforgettable characters and how with each one, Puccini was seeking to perfect the synthesis between music and action, while constantly looking to push the boundaries of his musical language.

Born in 1858 in Lucca into a dynasty of musicians, Puccini was destined to be a church composer. That all changed when at age of 18, he walked to Pisa to see Verdi's Aida. It proved to be a formative experience. In that moment, he determined to become a man of the theatre, writing music exclusively for the stage. He went on to produce a dozen operas in fulfilment of that ambition - the last of them left incomplete at his death in 1924 - include La Boh耀me, Tosca and Madama Butterfly, still the cornerstones of any opera house's repertory.

Set in the Latin Quarter of Paris, and premiered in 1896, La Boh耀me was the first of a series of highly successful collaborations with the writers Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica.

Mi chiamano Mim쀀 (La Boh耀me, Act 1)

Mirella Freni, soprano, Mim쀀

Berlin Philharmonic

Herbert von Karajan, conductor

Musetta's Waltz (La Boh耀me, Act 2)

Michel S退nechal, tenor, Alcindoro

Elizabeth Harwood, soprano, Musetta

Nicolai Ghiaurov, bass, Colline

Rolando Panerai, baritone, Marcello

Gianni Maffei, actor, Schaunard

Chorus of Deutsche Oper, Berlin

Act 3 (La Boh耀me)

Luciano Pavarotti, tenor, Rodolfo

Herbert von Karajan, conductor.

Donald Macleod turns his focus on Puccini's heroines to La Boheme's Mimi and Musetta.

201703A Roman Truth2017101820191023 (R3)Donald Macleod, in conversation with Sir Antonio Pappano, traces the developmental line of Puccini's meticulously crafted dramatic heroines. Today they discuss one of the most passionate and complex of characters, Tosca.

Manon Lescaut, Mim쀀, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Suor Angelica are women who capture our hearts and connect directly with our emotions. Recorded at the Royal Opera House, seated beneath several striking portraits of the composer, Tony dips into the scores to show how Puccini created these unforgettable characters and how with each one, he was seeking to perfect the synthesis between music and action, while constantly looking to push the boundaries of his musical language.

Born in 1858 in Lucca into a dynasty of musicians, Puccini was destined to be a church composer. That all changed when at age of 18, he walked to Pisa to see Verdi's Aida. It proved to be a formative experience. In that moment, he determined to become a man of the theatre, writing music exclusively for the stage. He went on to produce a dozen operas in fulfilment of that ambition - the last of them left incomplete at his death in 1924 - include La Boh耀me, Tosca and Madama Butterfly, still the cornerstones of any opera house's repertory.

Now firmly established as an internationally acclaimed figure, there was a lot of hype surrounding a new opera by Puccini. But when Tosca was first heard in Rome on 14th January 1900, the audience simply didn't get what they were hearing. They were confused. Where, they asked was the melody?

Vissi d'arte (Tosca, Act 2)

Angela Gheorghiu, soprano, Tosca

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Antonio Pappano, director

Tre sbirri, una carrozza (Tosca, Act 1)

Ruggero Raimondi, baritone, Scarpia

David Cangelosi, tenor, Spoletta

Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Act 3 (Tosca)

Gwynne Howell, bass, Carceriere

Roberto Alagna, tenor, Cavaradossi

Sorin Coliban, bass, Sciarrone

Antonio Pappano, director.

Puccini's heroines with Sir Antonio Pappano turns to a tale of passion and revenge, Tosca.

201704A Sea Of Misery2017101920191024 (R3)Donald Macleod, in conversation with Sir Antonio Pappano, traces the developmental line of Puccini's meticulously crafted dramatic heroines. Today they discuss Puccini's personal favourite, the tragic geisha, Madama Butterfly.

Manon Lescaut, Mim쀀,Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Suor Angelica are women who capture our hearts and connect directly with our emotions. Recorded at the Royal Opera House, seated beneath several striking portraits of the composer, Tony dips into the scores to show how Puccini created these unforgettable characters and how with each one, he was seeking to perfect the synthesis between music and action, while constantly looking to push the boundaries of his musical language.

Born in 1858 in Lucca into a dynasty of musicians, Puccini was destined to be a church composer. That all changed when at age of 18, he walked to Pisa to see Verdi's Aida. It proved to be a formative experience. In that moment, he determined to become a man of the theatre, writing music exclusively for the stage. He went on to produce a dozen operas in fulfilment of that ambition - the last of them left incomplete at his death in 1924 - include La Boh耀me, Tosca and Madama Butterfly, still the cornerstones of any opera house's repertory.

Based on a play he'd seen in London by David Belasco, Madama Butterfly ended up causing Puccini more heartache than either Tosca or La boh耀me. At the opening night at La Scala Milan on 17th February 1904 the action on stage was drowned out by the catcalls from the audience. Worse was to come. When the curtain came down at the end there was total silence. Out of all this anguish, what really stands out is Puccini's creation of surely the most heart-breaking and delicate of heroines, Cio-cio San, Madama Butterly.

Viene la sera (Madama Butterfly, Act 1)

Angela Gheorghiu, soprano, Butterfly

Jonas Kaufman, tenor, B.F. Pinkerton

Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

Antonio Pappano, conductor

Un bel d쀀 vedremo (Madama Butterfly, Act 2)

Finale (Madam Butterfly, Act 2, Part 2)

Enkelejda Shkosa, mezzo soprano, Suzuki

Fabio Capitanucci, baritone, Sharpless

Cristina Reale, mezzo soprano, Kate Pinkerton

Antonio Pappano, conductor.

Donald Macleod's focus on Puccini's heroines turns to the tragic geisha, Madama Butterfly.

201705 LASTThree For One2017102020191025 (R3)Donald Macleod, in conversation with Sir Antonio Pappano concludes this series exploring Puccini's heroines with Il trittico, three one-act operas and three contrasting female leads, Il tabarro's Giorgetta, Suor Angelica and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, for whom he wrote one of the most beautiful, soaring melodies in opera, O mio babbino caro.

Manon Lescaut, Mim쀀,Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Suor Angelica are women who capture our hearts and connect directly with our emotions. Recorded at the Royal Opera House, seated beneath several striking portraits of the composer, Tony dips into the scores to show how Puccini created these unforgettable characters and how with each one, he was seeking a perfect synthesis between music and action, constantly looking to push the boundaries of his musical language.

Born in 1858 in Lucca into a dynasty of musicians, Puccini was destined to be a church composer. That all changed when at age of 18, he walked to Pisa to see Verdi's Aida. It proved to be a formative experience. In that moment, he determined to become a man of the theatre, writing music exclusively for the stage. He went on to produce a dozen operas in fulfilment of that ambition - the last of them left incomplete at his death in 1924 - include La Boh耀me, Tosca and Madama Butterfly, still the cornerstones of any opera house's repertory.

The success of Puccini's trilogy of one-act operas, Il trittico at its New York premiere in 1918 ended a difficult decade for the composer. He'd started and abandoned several theatrical projects but now, finally, his hunger to embrace a new and modern musical language found expression in these three carefully balanced narratives: the darkly impressionistic Il tabarro follows Giorgetta and Luigi's illicit affair to a shocking conclusion, Puccini's own personal favourite, recounts a moment of truth and its tragic consequences for Suor Angelica and to round the evening off, greedy relatives are outwitted in the fast paced comic opera Gianni Schicchi.

? ben altro il mio sogno (Il tabarro)

Maria Guleghina, soprano, Giorgetta

Neil Shicoff, tenor, Luigi

Carlo Guelfi, baritone, Michele

Elena Zilio, mezzo soprano, la Frugola

Enrico Fissore, bass, Il Talpa

London Symphony Orchestra

Antonio Pappano, conductor

Il principe Gualtiero vostro padre.....Senza mamma, o bimbo, tu sei morte (Suor Angelica)

Cristina Gallardo-Domas, soprano, Suor Angelica

Bernadette Manca di Nissa, contralto, La zia principessa

Philharmonia Orchestra

C'耀 una persona sola chi ci pu  consigliare.....O mio babbino caro (Gianni Schicchi)

Roberto Alagna, tenor, Rinuccio

Angela Gheorghiu, soprano, Lauretta

Jos退 van Dam, baritone, Gianni Schicchi

Felicity Palmer, soprano, Zita

Antonio Pappano, conductor.

Donald Macleod concludes his look at Puccini 's heroines with Il trittico.

202101Success At Last20211227Donald Macleod recounts how Puccini's struggles to write Manon Lescaut paid off, the only one of his operas applauded by audiences and critics alike.

Giacomo Puccini was a man of the theatre to his fingertips. Born in Lucca in 1858, into a distinguished family of church musicians, Puccini was never destined to follow in his forebears' footsteps. His fate was sealed when as a teenager he walked 30 miles to hear Verdi's Aida. He knew immediately that theatre was his calling and from that point on he wrote almost exclusively for the stage.

A perfectionist and often unreasonable taskmaster, Puccini agonised over each of his operas. Beginning with Manon Lescaut, the opera that launched Puccini internationally, this week Donald Macleod follows the off and the on-stage dramas of La boh耀me, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and the opera he left incomplete at his death in 1924, his final masterpiece, Turandot. The stories on stage are interleaved with events in his personal life, from an early scandal over his affair with a married woman and some very dodgy skulduggery in his business dealings, to the suicide of one of his servants, a tragedy of such proportion, he was plunged in to a deep depression, haunted by the events for the rest of his life.

In a week celebrating a composer whose music expresses every human emotion, there's a host of landmark recordings, including the voices of Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Gheorghiu, Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna. We'll hear Mim쀀's touching calling card from La boh耀me, in the classic Victoria de los Angeles version, while Renato Scotto pours all Madam Butterfly's hopes into the heart-breaking Un bel d쀀. There's the raw pain of Sister Angelica mourning her dead son, and the dark desperation of a jealous husband in Il tabarro. On Wednesday Callas and Gobbi's anguished, sadistic torture scene in Tosca still has the power to shock us as much as it did on its first night in 1900. It's high stakes and nail-biting tension in La fanciulla del West as Minnie trades the life of her outlaw lover on the outcome of a card game. Joan Sutherland's icy Princess Turandot, a magnificent pairing with Luciano Pavarotti's Prince Calaf comes on Friday along with a certain aria made famous by the 1990 world cup, heard here in the hands of another Puccini specialist, Jussi Bj怀rling.

After critics called Puccini's second opera 'Edgar' a sin against art, the young composer really needed a hit. To the consternation of his publisher, Giulio Ricordi, what must his prot退g退e do but pick a subject that had already been used for an opera by Massenet most successfully. Could Puccini pull off a winner too?

Manon Lescaut, Act 1

Donna non vidi mai

Jonas Kaufmann, tenor

Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

Antonio Pappano, director

Le Villi, Act 1

Preghiera: Angiol di dio

Brian Mulligan, baritone, Guglielmo (Anna's father)

Ermonela Jaho, soprano, Anna

Arsen Soghomonyan, tenor Roberto

Opera Rara Chorus

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Sir Mark Elder, conductor

Messa di Gloria

Credo

Roberto Alagna, tenor

London Symphony Chorus

Antonio Pappano, conductor

Crisantemi

Navarra String Quartet

Manon Lescaut, Act 2

Dispettosetto questo Riccio!

In quelle trine morbide

Mirella Freni, Manon, soprano

Renato Bruson, Lescaut, baritone

Philharmonia Orchestra

Giuseppe Sinopoli, conductor

Manon Lescaut, Act 4

Sola, perduta, abbandonata

Fra le tue bracce amore

Placido Domingo, Des Grieux, tenor

Donald Macleod recounts how Puccini made his name and his fortune with Manon Lescaut.

202102Rivalries And Reputation20211228Donald Macleod sees how the characters Puccini created in La boh耀me, illustrate the penury of the composer's own student years in Milan.

Giacomo Puccini was a man of the theatre to his fingertips. Born in Lucca in 1858, into a distinguished family of church musicians, Puccini was never destined to follow in his forebears' footsteps. His fate was sealed when as a teenager he walked 30 miles to hear Verdi's Aida. He knew immediately that theatre was his calling and from that point on he wrote almost exclusively for the stage.

A perfectionist and often unreasonable taskmaster, Puccini agonised over each of his operas. Beginning with Manon Lescaut, the opera that launched Puccini internationally, this week Donald Macleod follows the off and the on-stage dramas of La boh耀me, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and the opera he left incomplete at his death in 1924, his final masterpiece, Turandot. The stories on stage are interleaved with events in his personal life, from an early scandal over his affair with a married woman and some very dodgy skulduggery in his business dealings, to the suicide of one of his servants, a tragedy of such proportion, he was plunged in to a deep depression, haunted by the events for the rest of his life.

In a week celebrating a composer whose music expresses every human emotion, there's a host of landmark recordings, including the voices of Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Gheorghiu, Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna, We'll hear Mim쀀's touching calling card from La boh耀me, in the classic Victoria de los Angeles version while Renato Scotto pours all of Madama Butterfly's hopes into the heartbreaking Un bel d쀀. There's the raw pain of Sister Angelica mourning her dead son, and the dark desperation of a jealous husband in Il tabarro. On Wednesday Callas and Gobbi's anguished, sadistic torture scene in Tosca still has the power to shock us as much as it did on its first night in 1900. It's high stakes and nail-biting tension in La fanciulla del West as Minnie trades the life of her outlaw lover on the outcome of a card game. Joan Sutherland's icy Princess Turandot, a magnificent pairing with Luciano Pavarotti's Prince Calaf comes on Friday along with a certain aria made famous by the 1990 world cup, heard here in the hands of another Puccini specialist, Jussi Bj怀rling.

The project of finding a new operatic subject to follow the success of 'Manon Lescaut' turned in to a scandal when Puccini fell into an argument with another composer over the rights to a book. Was this all a bit of hype engineered by the publishers, or was it a situation of Puccini's own making?

La boh耀me, Act 1

Mi chiamano Mim쀀

Victoria de los Angeles, soprano

RCA Victor Orchestra

Thomas Beecham, conductor

Pensier profondo!

Legna!

Si pu 

Nicolai Ghiaurov, bass, Colline

Rolando Panerai, baritone, Marcello

Luciano Pavarotti, tenor, Rodolfo

Gianni Maffei, actor, Schaunard

Michel S退n退chal, tenor, Benoit

Berlin Philharmonic

Herbert von Karajan, conductor

Capriccio sinfonico

Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra

Riccardo Chailly, conductor

La boh耀me, Act 3

Donde lieta usc쀀

Dunque 耀 proprio finit

202103Confusion And Mayhem20211229Donald Macleod follows the dramas surrounding Tosca and Madama Butterfly, the opera that Puccini believed was his finest creation yet suffered the most negative reception.

Giacomo Puccini was man of the theatre to his fingertips. Born in Lucca in 1858, into a distinguished family of church musicians, Puccini was never destined to follow in his forebears' footsteps. His fate was sealed when as a teenager he walked 30 miles to hear Verdi's Aida. He knew immediately that theatre was his calling and from that point on he wrote almost exclusively for the stage.

A perfectionist and an often unreasonable taskmaster, Puccini agonised over each of his operas. Beginning with Manon Lescaut, the opera that launched Puccini internationally, this week Donald Macleod follows the off and the on-stage dramas of La boh耀me, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and the opera he left incomplete at his death in 1924, his final masterpiece, Turandot. The stories on stage are interleaved with events in his personal life, from an early scandal over his affair with a married woman and some very dodgy skulduggery in his business dealings, to the suicide of one of his servants, a tragedy of such proportion, he was plunged in to a deep depression, haunted by the events for the rest of his life.

In a week celebrating a composer whose music expresses every human emotion, there's a host of landmark recordings, including the voices of Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Gheorghiu, Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna, We'll hear Mim쀀's touching calling card from La boh耀me, in the classic Victoria de los Angeles version while Renato Scotto pours all Madama Butterfly's hopes into the heartbreaking Un bel d쀀. The raw pain of Sister Angelica mourning her dead son, and the dark desperation of a jealous husband in Il tabarro. On Wednesday Callas and Gobbi's anguished, sadistic torture scene in Tosca still has the power to shock us as much as it did on its first night in 1900. It's high stakes and nail-biting tension in La fanciulla del West as Minnie trades the life of her outlaw lover on the outcome of a card game. Joan Sutherland's icy Princess Turandot, a magnificent pairing with Luciano Pavarotti's Prince Calaf comes on Friday along with a certain aria made famous by the 1990 world cup, heard here in the hands of another Puccini specialist, Jussi Bj怀rling.

When it came to Tosca, Puccini met with resistance from all sides, including his crack team of librettists and also his publisher. None of them seemed to understand his vision. Worse was to follow with the birth of his beloved Madama Butterfly. What was behind its failure?

Tosca, Act 1 (excerpt)

Ah! Finalment

202104Troubles At Home20211230Donald Macleod details the tragic event that created the biggest scandal of Puccini's life, throwing him into despair as he struggled to work on La fanciulla del West.

Giacomo Puccini was a man of the theatre to his fingertips. Born in Lucca in 1858, into a distinguished family of church musicians, Puccini was never destined to follow in his forebears' footsteps. His fate was sealed when as a teenager he walked 30 miles to hear Verdi's Aida. He knew immediately that theatre was his calling and from that point on he wrote almost exclusively for the stage.

A perfectionist and often unreasonable taskmaster, Puccini agonised over each of his operas. Beginning with Manon Lescaut, the opera that launched Puccini internationally, this week Donald Macleod follows the off and the on-stage dramas of La boh耀me, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and the opera he left incomplete at his death in 1924, his final masterpiece, Turandot. The stories on stage are interleaved with events in his personal life, from an early scandal over his affair with a married woman and some very dodgy skulduggery in his business dealings, to the suicide of one of his servants, a tragedy of such proportion, he was plunged in to a deep depression, haunted by the events for the rest of his life.

In a week celebrating a composer whose music expresses every human emotion, there's a host of landmark recordings, including the voices of Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Gheorghiu, Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna, We'll hear Mim쀀's touching calling card from La boh耀me, in the classic Victoria de los Angeles version while Renato Scotto pours all Madama Butterfly's hopes into the heartbreaking Un bel d쀀. The raw pain of Sister Angelica mourning her dead son, and the dark desperation of a jealous husband in Il tabarro. On Wednesday Callas and Gobbi's anguished, sadistic torture scene in Tosca still has the power to shock us as much as it did on its first night in 1900. It's high stakes and nail-biting tension in La fanciulla del West as Minnie trades the life of her outlaw lover on the outcome of a card game. Joan Sutherland's icy Princess Turandot, a magnificent pairing with Luciano Pavarotti's Prince Calaf comes on Friday along with a certain aria made famous by the 1990 world cup, heard here in the hands of another Puccini specialist, Jussi Bj怀rling.

After years of enduring her husband's infidelities, Puccini's wife Elvira accused one of the servants of having an affair with him.

O mio babbino caro

Montserrat Caball退, soprano, Lauretta

London Symphony Orchestra

Charles Mackerras, conductor

Gianni Schicchi, excerpt

Zitte, Obbedite!

Datemi I panni per verstirmi presto!

Tito Gobbi, baritone, Gianni Schicchi

Leo Pudis, bass, Maestro Spinellocchio

Anna di Stasio, Zita, mezzo soprano

Giancarlo Luccardi, bass, Simone

Alfredo Marriotti, bass-baritone, Betto di Signa

Carlo del Bosco, bass, Marco

Ileana Cotrubas, soprano, Lauretta

Lorin Maazel, conductor

Nulla silenzio!

Carlo Guelfi, baritone, Michele

Anthony Pappano, conductor

La fanciulla del West, Act 1

Signor Johnson, siete rimasto indietro

Io non son che una povera fanciulla

Quello che tacete

Come voi, Leggermi in cor non so

Oh, non temete, nessuno ardira

Mara Zampieri, soprano, Minnie

Placido Domingo, tenor, Dick Johnson

Sergio Bertocchi, tenor, Nick

Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala Milan

La fanciulla del West, Act 2

Una partita a poker!

Sherrill Milnes, baritone, Jack Rance

Carol Neblett, soprano, Minnie

Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden

Zubin Mehta, conductor

Nel silenzio di quei raccoglimenti

Tutto offerto alla Vergine, si, tutto

Senza mamma, o bimbo, tu sei morto!

Cristina Gallardo-Domas, soprano, Sister Angelica

Bernadette Manca di Nissa, soprano, the Aunt Princess

Donald Macleod details the tragic event that plunged Puccini into depression.

202105 LASTUnfinished Business20211231Donald Macleod explores Puccini's genius for creating different sound worlds in Madama Butterfly and Turandot.

Giacomo Puccini was a man of the theatre to his fingertips. Born in Lucca in 1858, into a distinguished family of church musicians, Puccini was never destined to follow in his forebears' footsteps. His fate was sealed when as a teenager he walked 30 miles to hear Verdi's Aida. He knew immediately that theatre was his calling and from that point on he wrote almost exclusively for the stage.

A perfectionist and often unreasonable taskmaster, Puccini agonised over each of his operas. Beginning with Manon Lescaut, the opera that launched Puccini internationally, this week Donald Macleod follows the off and the on-stage dramas of La boh耀me, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and the opera he left incomplete at his death in 1924, his final masterpiece, Turandot. The stories on stage are interleaved with events in his personal life, from an early scandal over his affair with a married woman and some very dodgy skulduggery in his business dealings, to the suicide of one of his servants, a tragedy of such proportion, he was plunged in to a deep depression, haunted by the events for the rest of his life.

In a week celebrating a composer whose music expresses every human emotion, there's a host of landmark recordings, including the voices of Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Gheorghiu, Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna, We'll hear Mim쀀's touching calling card from La boh耀me, in the classic Victoria de los Angeles version while Renato Scotto pours all Madama Butterfly's hopes into the heartbreaking Un bel d쀀. There's the raw pain of Sister Angelica mourning her dead son, and the dark desperation of a jealous husband in Il tabarro. On Wednesday Callas and Gobbi's anguished, sadistic torture scene in Tosca still has the power to shock us as much as it did on its first night in 1900. It's high stakes and nail-biting tension in La fanciulla del West as Minnie trades the life of her outlaw lover on the outcome of a card game. Joan Sutherland's icy Princess Turandot, a magnificent pairing with Luciano Pavarotti's Prince Calaf comes on Friday along with a certain aria made famous by the 1990 world cup, heard here in the hands of another Puccini specialist, Jussi Bj怀rling.

As soon as the ink was dry on one project, Puccini would start looking ahead to the next. However, from 1900 onwards he was beset by doubts and anxieties, unable to decide on the subject for his next opera. In the end it was the instruments and melodies of the far east that provided new inspiration.

Nessun Dorma

Jussi Bj怀rling, tenor

Rome Opera Orchestra

Erich Leinsdorf, conductor

Album: Very best of Jussi Bjorling

Madama Butterfly, Act 2

Un bel d쀀 vedremo

Anna di Stasio, mezzo-soprano, Suzuki

Renata Scotto, soprano, Cio-cio San

Rome Opera House Orchestra

John Barbirolli, conductor

Una nave da guerra

Scuoti quella fronda di ciliegio

Or vieni ad adornar

Turandot, Act 1

In Questa Reggia

Ascolta straniera

Gloria o vincitore!

Joan Sutherland, soprano, Princess Turandot

Luciano Pavarotti, tenor, Calaf

Peter Pears, tenor, Emperor

Montserrat Caballe, soprano, Liu

London Philharmonic Orchestra

John Alldis choir

Zubin Mehta, conductor

La boh耀me, Act 4

Fingevo dormire

Angela Gheorghiu, soprano, Mimi

Roberto Alagna, tenor, Rodolfo

Roberto de Candia, baritone, Schaunard

Elizabetta Scano, mezzo-soprano, Musetta,

Simon Keenlyside, baritone, Marcello

Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, bass, Colline

Orchestra of La Scala, Milan

Riccardo Chailly, conductor

Donald Macleod explores the sound worlds of Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Turandot.