Culture & Arts; Lecturer, Writer, Contents creator, Broadcaster
;President, Art Collage JANG/J Books & Media/Modigliani Institute Korea
;Author, “The Great and Immortal Painters’ Stories” series
Giacomo Puccini was an Italian
opera composer who was born on December 22, 1858 and died on November 29, 1924.
He is considered "the greatest composer of Italian opera after
Verdi."
Puccini's birthplace, seen in 1984
Puccini's early work was rooted in
traditional romantic Italian opera of the late 19th century. Later, he
developed his works in a realistic verismo style. Puccini's most famous works
are "La bohème", "Tosca", "Madama Butterfly" and
"Turandot", all of which are among the most important and frequently
performed repertoires around the world.
Original poster for "La bohème" (1896)
Promotional poster for "Turandot" (1926)
Original poster for "Madama Butterfly" (1904)
Puccini was born in Lucca, Italy in
1858. He was the sixth of nine children of Michele Puccini and Albina Magi. As
a child, he served as a member of the boys’ choir and later as a substitute
organist at the Cattedrale di San Martino.
The Cattedrale di San Martino
(Lucca Cathedral)
Puccini received a general
education at the seminary of San Michele in Lucca, and then at the seminary of
the cathedral. One of Puccini's uncles, Fortunato Magi, supervised his musical
education.
Giacomo Puccini (1908)
Puccini received his musical education from his uncle Fortunato at
the Pacini School of Music in Lucca in 1880, and then later from Carlo
Angeloni, who had also instructed Alfredo Catalani. With a grant from Queen
Margherita and assistance from another uncle Nicholas Cerù, he was able to
continue studying at the Milan Conservatory.
Milan Conservatory
Puccini wrote an orchestral piece
called the "Capriccio sinfonico" as a thesis work for the Milan
Conservatory. Puccini's teachers, Ponchielli and Bazzini, were impressed with
this work, which was performed on July 14, 1883 at a student concert at the
conservatory, conducted by Franco Faccio. Puccini's work was well received in
Milan's publication "Perseveranza", and thus Puccini began to build a
reputation as a young promising composer in Milanese music scene.
Monument to Giacomo Puccini, Lucca, Italy
Puccini, who was a chain smoker of
Toscano cigars and cigarettes, began to complain of chronic sore throats in
late 1923. He diagnosed with throat cancer, and his doctors recommended a new
and experimental radiation therapy treatment available in Brussels.
He underwent surgery in Brussels,
but the day after the surgery, he suffered a heart attack due to uncontrollable
excessive bleeding, and died on 29 November 1924 at the age of 65 from
complications after the surgery.
Monumento a Puccini, Torre del Lago
News of his death reached Rome during a
performance of La bohème, and the orchestra, which was performing, immediately
stopped the opera and played Chopin's Funeral March for the astonished
audience.
His remains were buried in Milan and then moved to a specially
created chapel inside the Puccini villa at Torre del Lago in 1926.
Today's
lecture is five operas featuring “Revolution/Reform”, which were introduced in
“The 41st ACJ Music Academy” on April 2, 2016.
1.
Fidelio (Beethoven)
2.
Nabucco (Verdi)
3.
Don Carlos (Verdi)
4.
Andrea Chénier (Giordano)
5.
Tosca (Puccini)
1.
Fidelio (Beethoven)
This is Ludwig van
Beethoven's only opera with two acts. The German libretto was written by Joseph
Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly.
The title of this opera,
which means ‘fidelity’, is the name of the female protagonist who disguised as
a man. The real name is ‘Leonore’, but she approaches the prison guard and his daughter
on purpose, calling herself Fidelio to rescue her husband locked up in a
dungeon when he demonstrates the ideals of the revolution.
The daughter of the guard
already has a fiancé, but she falls in love with her as she thought Fidelio is
a real man. After many twists and turns, Fidelio, who armed with love and
fidelity for her husband, hands his enemy over to the judgment of the law and succeeds
in saving her husband.
2. Nabucco (Verdi)
It is a four-act opera
written by Giuseppe Verdi. Based on the Biblical story, a play ‘Nabuchodonosor’
by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornu and Antonio Cortese's ballet
adaptation of the play, Temistocle Solera wrote an Italian libretto. The best-known song in this
opera is "Va, pensiero, sull'ali dorate", also known as the
"Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves.”
The opera ‘Nabucco’ is based
on history, but rather focuses on the human conflict and psychological depiction
of the main characters than on historical events. King Nebukadnezar in the
opera has two daughters. His first daughter Abigaille, who was originally a
slave’s daughter but grew up as a princess after many twists and turns,
believes she will succeed the throne. Only the king knows the secret of her birth.
Meanwhile, his second daughter, Fenena, loved Ismaele, the Hebrew prisoner in Babylon,
and flees to Jerusalem with him. The problem is that her sister Abigaille also loves
him.
When the Babylonian army occupied Jerusalem’s temple, Fenena and Ismaele
are caught and brought to the Babylonian palace, and Abigaille, who knew the
secret of her birth from the secret documents in the palace, decides to kill
her father and sister and become a queen.
Nebukadnezar, who called himself a
god, was insane struck by the thunders, imprisoned by Abigaille with losing his
throne. Abigaille, who took all the power with the priests of Baal god, tries
to execute the Hebrew prisoners and her younger sister. But Nebukadnezar, who
returned to normal and regained his power, saves his daughterFenena and the Hebrews, and Abigaille
dies under the crumbling Baal’s statue, and the Hebrews are liberated.
3. Don Carlos (Verdi)
It is a five-act grand opera by
Giuseppe Verdi to a French libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based
on the dramatic play of the same title by Friedrich Schiller. The French
libretto was then translated into Italian and revised five times.
The story is set in Spain
around 1560. King Philippe II's son, Prince Don Carlos, was in love with Elisabeth
de Valois, but when his father, Philippe II, marries her for political reasons,
he faces the tragic fate of being mother-and-son’s relationship with his lover.
As a recipe for overcoming this personal despair, the Prince's best friend, Rodrigue,
Marquis of Posa, urges the Prince to “go to Flanders (currently the
Netherlands) to rescue the oppressed people and build peace”.
Meanwhile, Princess
Eboli, who is a mistress of King Philippe II and loves Prince Carlos, learns the
relationship between Carlo and the queen, and tries to destroy them due to her
jealousy. King Philippe II, who believes in 'powerful rulership makes the world
peaceful,' even confesses his personal secret to the Marquis of Posa, who
fearlessly refutes him from the front, because he trust him, but the Marquis
eventually dies for Prince Carlos, not the King. The king, who does not have
such a true friend, is sorrowful.
The head of inquisition asks
the king to punish Don Carlos and Rodrigue, and ultimately, Rodrigue, whom King
Philippe most trusts, is executed. Before leaving for Flanders, Don Carlos says
goodbye to Elisabeth near the graveyard of his grandfather, former king, but the
king, who saw them hugging, is jealous and tries to kill Don Carlos. Then the
ghost of the former king appears and takes Carlos to the underworld.
4. Andrea Chénier (Giordano)
It is a three-act opera
composed by Umberto Giordano, based on the life of French poet André Chénier, to
an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica.
The opera ‘Andrea Chénier’
shows the characters who are conflicting and ruining in the vortex of history for
about five years from the revolutionary year to the time when Robespierre
declared the Reign of Terror.
A poet, who loves the nature and life of his
native country France, Andrea Chénier, is invited to a party held at the Countess'
mansion just before the outbreak of the revolution, where he meets her daughter
Maddalena, but already armed with revolutionary thoughts, Chénier reacts
indifferently to her interests. But Maddalena, who loved Chénier, continues to
anonymously send letters supporting and encouraging his lines and activities,
even after she completely lost her life as a noble due to the revolution.
Meanwhile, Gérard, who was a former servant of the Count’s mansion but gained a
high social status by joining the revolution, tries to execute the enemy Chénier
while seeking for the place where Maddalena resides, whom he has loved since
childhood.
When Chénier is arrested and in danger of being executed, Maddalena
appears in front of Gérard and asks for help, but when her true love moves him
and he tries to save him, it's already too late. Maddalena then changes her
name with a woman on the execution list and saves the woman, and heads to a guillotine
to be executed with Chénier together.
5. Tosca (Puccini)
It is a three-act opera
composed by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe
Giacosa, based on the drama of the same title by Victorien Sardou.
Floria Tosca, the heroine of
the opera 'Tosca', is a celebrated singer.
She is the heroine of tragedy that ends with suicide at an early age as
dramatic as her life on the stage. This tragic story takes place in Rome, Italy
in 1800, when liberalism and republicanism waved after the French Revolution.
At that time, the French revolutionary forces led by Napoleon were battling with
British, Austrian, and Russian allied forces to defend autocracy. France, who
occupied Rome, proclaims Rome as a Republic. However, Ferdinando IV and Queen Maria
Carolina, who had been driven by Napoleon to the island of Sicily, again
organized troops, attempted a counterattack, and destroyed the republic. The
Italian revolutionary forces then retreat to the basement and begin fighting
against the royalists. Although the opera starts from this historical
background, it is a drama that focuses on the psychological tension and
conflict of the main characters rather than the historical facts.
Scarpia, the informer
of the royalists and powerful man, is fascinated by a singer Tosca, who stands
on stage as a soloist at every National major event, and is trying to get her
into his hands. However, Tosca is secretly in love with a revolutionist and painter
Cavaradossi. Scarpia, who knows that normal courtship cannot get her heart,
wants to destroy Cavaradossi and get Tosca.
She tries to save Cavaradossi, who
is being tortured by Scarpia on charges of hiding Angelotti, and offers Scarpia
a bribe. However, Scarpia, who is notorious for enjoying bribesin
Rome, refuses the bribes at this time and demands physical relationship. Tosca,
who doesn't want to allow her body, eventually stabs Scarpia with a knife and
kills him, and her lover Cavaradossi is executed.
Thinking that his execution
is not real, Tosca runs to him and is surprised at his bloody body. At that
time, Tosca, who avoided Scarpia's subordinate Spoletta, trying to catch her,
throws herself under the castle.
You can
listen to all the arias selected in this course from following YouTube link.
1. Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du
him?, Fidelio (Beethoven)
