Latest Release
- SEP 13, 2024
- 1 Song
- Romantic Classical Music - 30 Sweetest Classical Pieces · 2015
- La Grande Guerra (i canti, le storie e le voci) Vol.2 · 1984
- Plácido Domingo - Welcome (World Cup EP) · 1984
- La Bohème - Oper erzählt als Hörspiel mit Musik · 1990
- Puccini: Tosca (Recorded Live at The Met - January 29, 2011) · 2011
- The Classics At the Movies Comedy 2 · 1990
- Lullaby Classical Hits Vol.5 · 2022
- Opera Arias [1951 - 1957] · 1931
- Opera Arias [1951 - 1957] · 1972
- A Night at the Opera · 2024
Essential Albums
- This exemplary performance of Puccini’s famous bohemian tearjerker feels alive from the downbeat. That only gets stronger once a young tenor named Luciano Pavarotti enters, one minute into the proceedings, to deliver one of his essential performances in the role of Rodolfo. Soprano Mirella Freni’s Mimi is a key part of a superb cast too—witness her warm, affecting way with the would-be separation aria “Donde lieta uscì.” An undoubted high-point of Herbert von Karajan’s vast catalog, this is a thrilling demonstration of the energy of his conductor’s art.
Artist Playlists
- Along with Verdi, Italy's most-performed composer of operas is a master of naturalism.
- A selection of orchestral and chamber works by the Italian opera great.
Appears On
About Giacomo Puccini
Puccini’s richly expressive orchestration, gripping storytelling, and wonderfully memorable, moving melodies have made him one of the most popular composers in operatic history. Although he came from a family of church musicians, Puccini (born in Lucca, Italy, in 1858) gravitated to opera at an early age. Le Villi (1883), his first opera, was staged at Milan’s prestigious La Scala when he was 26. But it was a trilogy of midcareer works that truly established Puccini’s reputation. La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), and Madama Butterfly (1904) were phenomenally successful, becoming box-office staples on the international opera circuit. Critics have occasionally balked at the uncomfortable levels of suffering foisted on his female characters, and scented cultural appropriation in Madama Butterfly and his final opera, Turandot (prem. 1926). But audiences have stayed unwaveringly faithful to Puccini’s heartfelt, emotional style, and few seriously question his status as the finest Italian opera composer since Verdi.
- HOMETOWN
- Lucca, Italy
- BORN
- December 22, 1858
- GENRE
- Classical