Giacomo Puccini

Painting and relevance: Jacques-Louis David’s “Oath of the Horatii” was painted in 1784 and it was commissioned by the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on behalf of the Kind Louis XVI. The inspiration of the painting had to come by Corneille’s Play “Horace” which was being performed in Paris during that time. In 1785 the painting was exhibited at the Paris Salon. The painting shows a decisive moment of will as well as a great family tragedy resulting from political consequences. The episode takes place in early Roman history; the three Horatii brothers make an oath to their father that they would fight and sacrifice themselves in order to save Rome from the Curatii brothers, representatives of Alba Longa. The tragic dilemma of the story lies in the fact that these two families where linked by marriage. Sabina, one of the Curatii’s sisters was indeed married to one of the Horatii, while Camilla, sister of the Horatii was betrothed to one of the Curatii. This historical painting is regarded as one of David’s absolute masterpieces. It conveys heroism and patriotism, themes that will acquire fundamental importance during the French Revolution. However, these themes are represented by making use of a classical subject. Therefore, David makes use of an subject drawn from antiquity to depict and criticise a contemporary social problem. It is no coincidence that the episode was taken from the early roman period, which was characterized by heroic patriotism. The formal…

The opera Madame Butterfly written by Giacomo Puccini is a story about a young maiden from Japan who is in an arranged marriage to Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton a soldier in the U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Pinkerton sees the marriage as a business deal, purchasing a house and servants, as well as receiving the fair maiden Madame Butterfly as a wife. Yet, Madame Butterfly believes that Lieutenant Pinkerton is marrying her for love. Not long after their marriage, Lieutenant Pinkerton tells Madame Butterfly…

For my first Vocal Performer report, I chose to review the classical tenor named Juan Diego Florez in his performance of the French opera La fille du regiment (The Daughter of the Regiment). Juan Diego was Juan Diego Flórez is a renowned operatic tenor that was born in Lima, Peru on January 13, 1973. Juan Diego studied at the Curtis Institute of Music where he is said to have developed the Bel Canto technique. Bel Canto is a term related to Italian singing and as well as a particular music style…

If you were asked to name famous opera singers, you might only be able to name a few. Luciano Pavarotti, even after his death, is one of the most recognizable names in opera, and so is the name Andrea Bocelli, one of Pavarotti's good friends. How popular is Bocelli? Well, he did appear on Sesame Street and sang a song with Elmo, if that quantifies his popularity for you. Like Pavarotti, Bocelli was born in Italy and began singing at an early age. He grew up on a farm in the Tuscany region of…

An analysis of orientalism in ‘Madame Butterfly’ and ‘Turandot Due to the integration of various forms of artistic expression and multicultural customs, opera has been loved by the majority of the people since it was published. Therefore, the same as the other art works and masterpieces, opera also would be influenced by politics and economics, even by the thoughts or minds from most people. Madame Butterfly (Puccini, 1904) and Turandot (Puccini, 1926) were two examples to illustrate how a…

Introduction to Opera Compare the characters of Carmen and Micaëla in Carmen. What are the differences between them, how is this expressed in the music, and do you think the outcome is inevitable? Introduction Bizet's Carmen is an Opera in four acts, first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March with a plot based on the 1845 novella by Mérimée. Today it stands as one of the most popular french operas of all time.The Opera explores the relationship between the enchanting Carmen and…

Un Bel Di Vedremo: “is a soprano aria from the opera Madama Butterfly (1904) by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is sung by Cio-Cio San, when she imagines and performs the return of Pinkerton on a white ship, signalled by a thread of smoke on the far horizon.” (Wikipedia, Un Bel Di Vedremo). It is an extraordinary soprano aria sung by Madama Butterfly in the moment act of Giacomo Puccini's appalling opera, Madama Butterfly. The lyrics was composed by Luigi…

the opera La Boheme. La Boheme is a love story between a poet named Rodolfo and seamstress named Mimi. The opera explores ideas of true love and the bitter sweetness of reminiscing past lovers. This opera was based on the novel, Scenes de la vie de Boheme by Henri Murger. The music was written by Giacomo Puccini, an Italian composer who lived during the Post-Romanic Period, and is well known for his opera compositions. The libretto was written by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. The orchestra…

Ferrarese del Bene appearing in the role of Susanna. The composer wrote the aria “Un moto di gioia mi sento” (“An emotion of joy I feel”) for that production as a replacement for the Act II aria “Venite inginocchiatevi”, not because he was dissatisfied with it, but because “Un moto di gioia” was better suited to the voice of Del Bene. In the opera, Susanna sings it while she dresses Cherubino in women's clothing as a ruse to deceive the Count. “O mio Babbino caro” by Puccini was Yanessa fourth…

contradictions between capitalism and socialism, freedom and oppression, emotion, and faith. Many passionate pieces were written during The result of this was creative artists started thinking differently and had new creative thoughts for music. There were six types of romanticism which were subjectivity, emotionalism, nationalism, programmatic compositions, thick timbre, and chromaticism. Romantic music still served a sophisticated and refined society, as had been the case with classical music…