Puccini brought about a revolution in verismo—or realism—in opera, putting real people (seamstresses, geishas, painters) on stage in situations that audiences could entirely identify with. His gift for glorious melodies immediately won him a huge following, and works like La bohème, Madama Butterfly and Tosca are performed daily the world over. Over a rich, beautifully coloured orchestral cushion of sound, Puccini unfurls some of the great melodies in classical music—"Nessun dorma" from his last opera, Turandot, is just one of many that guaranteed his immortality.