'La Bohème' is Puccini's fourth opera and was premiered in Turin in 1896. The tale of the consumptive Mimi goes back to a story by Henri Murger, 'Scènes de la vie de Bohème'. Puccini set the topic to...
Puccini had hardly finished his work on 'Tosca' in 1900 and seen its first performances when a new potential opera subject attracted his attention during a theatre visit in London: the play staged was...
Puccini's opera 'Tosca' was based on a stage play by Victorien Sardou which the composer had seen in Milan with the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt. The story is partly about a historical event in the...
Glücklich, endlich den langgesuchten großen Opernstoff gefunden zu haben, begann Puccini seine Turandot. Es ist sein letztes Werk: Krankheit und Tod hinderten den Komponisten an der Vollendung, die ab...
This comprehensive introduction to Giuseppe Verdi's 'Don Carlos' contains the complete libretto with numerous music examples. Kurt Pahlen comments on the work with music-related references as well exp...
Having composed five operas in the 1850s, Verdi, while looking for a suitable libretto, came across a manuscript of Eugène Scribe which had already been the subject of works by other composers. Althou...
After the composition of his opera 'Aida' and of the Requiem, Verdi withdrew completely to the Villa Sant' Agata and considered this to be the end of his career as a composer. It took a bit of cunning...
