Mikel Ponce, Miguel Lorenzo / Palau de les Arts

Puccini

Giacomo Puccini is regarded as the greatest Italian composer of the generation after Giuseppe Verdi.

Manon Lescaut was the opera that really launched his career. From this moment, he began to work with the librettists Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, who would write the libretti for the composer’s most famous works: La bohème, Madama Butterfly, Tosca and Turandot (the latter unfinished). Puccini’s music is eclectic and he fuses the most outstanding compositional musical styles of the time. He was greatly influenced by Richard Wagner but also by French music of the late 20th century. Focused on theatre music, Puccini is the composer of some of the most remarkable melodies in the history of opera.

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Giacomo Puccini

Puccini’s most famous operas have retained their hold on the public for over 100 years.

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Strong Women in Opera: Turandot

If the origin of the character is certainly much more misogynist than feminist - the myth of the cold, cruel and castrating woman akin to the ‘witches’ persecuted en masse during the Renaissance -, Turandot is no shrinking violet but a resolutely independent and powerful character.

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Turandot

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Là, sui monti dell'Est

The Children's chorus of Finnish National Opera sings ‘Là, sui monti dell'Est’ (There, on the mountains of the east) from Puccini's opera Turandot.

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Turandot

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Signore, ascolta!

Francesca Dotto sings Liù's aria ‘Signore, ascolta!’ from Puccini's opera Turandot at Grand Théâtre de Genève.

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Turandot

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Liù! Liù! Sorgi! Sorgi!

Bass Liang Li sings Timur's aria ‘Liù! Liù! Sorgi! Sorgi!’ from Puccini's opera Turandot at Grand Théâtre de Genève.

Komische Oper Berlin

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La bohème

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Quando m’en vo’

Act II. Wherever she goes, Musetta (Vera-Lotte Böcker) is admired for her beauty - and she knows it. At Café Momus, she’s being admired by none other than Marcello (Günter Papendell), her occasional boyfriend. She teases him, enjoying the sexual tension between them, while he tries his best to ignore her. Mimì (Nadja Mchantaf) and Rodolfo (Gerard Schneider) enjoy the spectacle while the councillor Alcindoro (Christoph Späth) can do nothing to stop his date going off the rails.

Mikel Ponce, Miguel Lorenzo

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Madama Butterfly

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Un bel dì, vedremo

Marina Rebeka sings the soprano aria ‘Un bel dì, vedremo’ – one of the most famous pieces in the soprano repertoire – from Giacomo Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly.

Cio-Cio San (Marina Rebeka) gives up everything to marry a lieutenant in the US Navy. But when he suddenly leaves the country, she is determined to wait patiently until he sails back into harbour. In this scene, she imagines his return.

Javier del Real | Teatro Rea

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Tosca

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Vissi d’arte

Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky sings the aria ‘Vissi d'arte’ from Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca at Teatro Real Madrid.

Tosca has been told she can save Cavaradossi’s life but only by giving herself to Scarpia (Łukasz Goliński). Distraught by her terrible situation, the pious singer asks God why he has abandoned her in her greatest hour of need.

Erik Berg | The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet

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Tosca

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E lucevan le stelle

'E lucevan le stelle' ('And the stars were shining') is a romantic aria from the third act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca from 1900. It is sung by Mario Cavaradossi (Daniel Johansson), a painter in love with the singer Tosca, while he waits for his execution on the roof of Castel Sant'Angelo.

Teatro Regio Torino

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Turandot

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In questa reggia

Act II. Turandot (Rebeka Lokar) recounts that, in this same palace some years ago, a princess was conquered by the king of Tartars, raped and murdered. She decides to avenge this death. Whoever wishes to marry her must solve an enigma. In case of failure, the suitor must die. Conducted by Gianandrea Noseda and directed by Stefano Poda.

Latvian National Opera and Ballet

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La rondine

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Chi il bel sogno di Doretta

The fashionable poet Prunier (Pavel Petrov) sings his latest song. It tells the tale of Doretta, who, in her dream, rejects the king’s affections as she knows that his gold cannot make her happy. Prunier has not yet finished writing the song so the glamorous courtesan Magda (Dinara Alieva), who empathises with Doretta’s situation, has a go at improvising an ending.