Giacomo Puccini

Question 1

Information About Him

Answer 1

• (1858-1924)
• Italian opera composer
• known for beautiful melodies, touching harmonies, and characterizations of heroines

Question 2

His Style and Contributions

Answer 2

• inspired by Verdi, another Italian opera composer
• used rubato and variety in orchestration
• used the verismo style and exoticism in some of his operas
• operas: Turandot, Madama Butterfly, Girl of the Golden West, La bohème, Tosca

Question 3

Important Work: Madama Butterfly

Answer 3

• source of play came from David Belasco
• librettists: Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
• premiered in 1904
• main characters:
• Madama Butterfly, age 15 (soprano)
• Pinkerton, lieutenant (tenor)
• Sharpless, with USA consul in Nagasaki (baritone)
• set in Nagasaki, Japan, in about 1900

Question 4

Plot of Madama Butterfly

Answer 4

• Act One:
• Butterfly marries Pinkerton without her family’s approval
• Act Two:
• scene 1:
• Butterfly is waiting for the return of Pinkerton
• Sharpless arrives at Butterfly’s house to say that Pinkerton is returning with his American wife
• however, he sees she now has a son so he doesn’t tell her about Pinkerton’s new wife
• scene 2:
• Pinkerton and is wife arrive and say they want Butterfly’s son
• Butterfly agrees and ends her life

Question 5

Prelude of Act One of Madama Butterfly

Answer 5

• in C minor
• allegro
• in 2/4 time
• contrapuntal/fugal texture
• has accents, strong rhythm, and imitation which make prelude aggressive/agitated

Question 6

Act Two of Scene One of Madama Butterfly

Answer 6

• Un bel di vedremo” (“Soon we’ll see at daybreak”)
• Butterfly is singing to Suzuki
• structure: ABAC
• section A:
• in G-flat major
• andante
• in 3/4 time
• begins high (characteristic of Puccini’s melodies)
• orchestra doubles the vocal line (also another characteristic)
• lots of rubato
• section B:
• implies F minor
• in 2/4 time
• there are fast, repeated notes which it a speech-lie quality
• this part of the poetry talks about her waiting on the top of a hill for Pinkerton’s return
• section A:
• starts on high G-flat and goes downward
• she says she will not die (of emotions) in seeing Pinkerton again but it foreshadows her actual death
• section C:
• speech-like
• melody rises to a high B-flat on the words “await him”
• orchestra finishes the aria with the main theme