Class 8: Puccini's Passion

Handout Return to Index

8. Puccini's Passion. Puccini is often categorized as the leading composer of the Italian verismo Movement. In that verismo is defined as the realistic depiction of working-class folk and the drama of contemporary life, the only Puccini opera that really fits is his late one-act melodrama Il tabarro (The Cloak), which premiered at the Met in 1919; we shall devote the last hour of class to watching extended sections.

Actually, the two composers who launched verismo—Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945) with Cavalleria rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) in 1890, and Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857–1919) with I pagliacci (The Traveling Players) in 1892—did not stay with the same aesthetic for long either. Both branched out in other directions, though neither matched that first great triumph. Puccini, on the other hand, went from strength to strength, attaining a peak of popularity he holds to this day.

Nevertheless, the main thing Puccini had in common with verismo composers is a nose for passion, and the ability to write music that sweeps the hearer up in it. So although he remained his own man, a comparison to his verismo contemporaries is still a useful way to study his success.

The script, videos, and images will be posted immediately after class.

Handout Class Script

Return to Index

VIDEO LINKS

Every scene heard in class is available on YouTube somewhere, but almost never in the videos I showed! The only exceptions are Angela Gheorghiu's "Vissi d'arte" and the three 78-rpm records I used in my opening video; these are all *asterisked.

For Cav and Pag, I can offer a clip of a different scene from the Franco Zeffirelli production at the Met, plus his two slightly earlier films. There is also (at least at the time of writing) the complete current production of both operas at the Met by Sir David McVicar; the Pagliacci is gently updated, but basically traditional; the Cavalleria rusticana, on the other hand, is strikingly different—a radical riposte to the verismo approach—and quite stimulating.

The Puccini operas are again a mixed bag. Carlos Kleiber's conducting of the Zeffirelli production of La bohème in Milan has become a classic, plus it has English titles. There are two versions of Tosca filmed on location, as it were, in Rome, but neither is as sharp as the one I showed. The treasure here, though, is the Tosca/Scarpia scene from Act II performed by the iconic pair of Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi; it is virtually a masterclass in verismo acting. The reason I showed a modern Butterfly in class was because I couldn't find a passable traditional one; the two I offer here are the best I can come up with. Finally, there are two productions of Il tabarro from the Met, both with titles: I recommend the 1981 version; the 2007 one has fine singing and a more spectacular set, but the video quality looks decades older. rb.

78-RPM RECORDS
	Cavalleria rusticana	* Santuzza's aria, "Vo lo sapete, O Mama" (Lina Bruna Rasa)
	I pagliacci	* Canio's aria, "Vesti la giubba" (Aulreliano Pertile)
	La bohème	* Complete opera, cued to start in class (Aristodemo Giorgini )
PIETRO MASCAGNI
	Cavalleria rusticana	* Zeffirelli film 1981 (no titles) * Met 1987: Santuzza/Turridu scene (Franco Zeffirelli) * Met 2015, full opera (English titles) * Vienna 2019, full opera (English titles)
RUGGIERO LEONCAVALLO
	I pagliacci complete	* Zeffirelli film 1982 (Domingo, Stratas) * Met 2015 * Verona 2020 (Roberto Alagna; no titles)
	Canio's aria: "Vesti la giubba"	* Richard Tucker * Luciano Pavarotti * Placido Domingo
GIACOMO PUCCINI
	La bohème	* Milan 1979. full opera (Zeffirelli/Kleiber; English titles)
	Tosca	* Film 1965, complete (old, but has titles) * Film 1976, complete (no titles) * Most of Act Two (Callas, Gobbi) * Aria, "Vissi d'arte" (Angela Gheorghiu)
	Madama Butterfly	* Film 1995, complete (English titles) * London 2022, Flower duet (dark, but has titles)
	Il tabarro	* Met 1981, complete (English titles) * Met 2007, complete (looks older, but has titles)


IMAGES
The thumbnails below cover the slides shown in class, though there may be a few small discrepancies. Click the thumbnail to see a larger image. Click on the right or left of the larger picture to go forward or back, or outside it to close.

	Ruggiero Leoncavallo, 1858–1919. Italian composer. Although he wrote many operas, Leoncavallo's reputation rests upon a single work, I pagliacci (the players, 1892), a two-act opera generally performed as half of a double bill. But that is one of the cornerstones of Italian verismo—a movement characterized by its depiction of the passions of ordinary people. He went on to write a La bohème a year after Puccini's, but was unable to mattch his rival's success, or indeed his own.
	Giacomo Puccini, 1858–1924. Italian composer. Puccini took up the mantle of Verdi as the dominant opera composer of the late 19th century, and developed an international popularity that is unrivaled to this day. His principal works include: Manon Lescaut (1893), La bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), Madama Butterfly (1904), and the unfinished Turandot (1926).
	Pietro Mascagni, 1863–1945. Italian composer. While still in his twenties, Mascagni won first prize in a 1890 competition sponsored by the music publisher Sanzogno. Cavalleria rusticana (Rustic Chivalry), the winning work, soon achieved worldwide popularity, particularly in combination with another single-act work, Leoncavallo's I pagliacci (1892), which together virtually define the verismo style. None of his other operas has achieved such fame.