Puccini : a critical biography / by Mosco Carner.
| Author/creator |
Carner, Mosco |
| Format | Book and Print |
| Edition | 1st American edition. |
| Publication Info | New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1959. |
| Description | xvi, 500 pages : illustrations, portraits, plates, music, facsimiles ; 24 cm |
| Subject(s) |
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| Contents | First part. The man. Preludio in Modo Antico ; Early years at Lucca ; Milan ; First steps in opera ; Predicaments ; The turn of the tide ; Torre del Lago: 'Turis Eburnea' ; Maturity ; 'Sardoodledom' ; Intermezzo strepitoso ; Lean years ; New York and after ; Giacomo and Elvira ; Tragic interlude ; Recovery ; Out of work again ; War years ; 'A sign of strength' ; Aftermath of war ; Swansong -- Second part. The artist. General features ; Verdi and Puccini ; Fundamental aesthetics of Italian opera ; Melodrama (libretto and opera) ; Realism ; Zola's formula and verismo ; Anti-operatic tendencies in Italy ; Puccini's 'French' sensibility ; Three aspects of atmosphere: documentary; poetic; psychological ; Atmosphere versus character -- Puccini and the Fin de Siecle. Psychological mainspring of his art ; Love as tragic guilt and its compulsive pattern ; Latent symbolism of plot and characters ; The Puccinian heroine and her antagonist ; Puccini's limitations -- Dramaturgy and musical style -- Thrid part. The work. Youthful compositions: mass, capriccio sinfonico, chamber music, etc. ; Le Villi ; Edgar ; Manon Lescaut ; La Boheme ; La Tosca ; Madama Butterfly ; La Fanciulla del West ; La Rondine ; Il Trittico. Il Tabarro ; Suor Angelica ; Gianni Schicchi -- Turnadot. |
| Abstract | The life and works of Giacomo Puccini, composer of La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Turandot, and other universal operatic favorites, are here presented in detail for the first time in any language in a book unlikely ever to be superseded. A full-length recounting of Puccini's fascinating life, rich in previously unused materials, is followed by detailed analyses of each of his operas and other compositions. The author, a Viennese conductor and musicologist, has performed this monumental task with knowledge, grace, and insight. The biography brings to life a curious, somewhat ambiguous man whose greatly successful career was marked alternately by storms, tragedies, and triumphs, a genius who somehow missed the final greatness. His relations with his family, colleagues, librettists, singers, conductors--and his peculiar, convoluted relationship with his wife--have some of the very drama that has made his operas so enduringly popular. Puccini's letters are quoted extensively, many of them in English for the first time. The opera analyses, constantly evaluating the music in terms of drama and libretto, are unique in musical literature and in their completeness and illumination. They are, furthermore, judicious and soundly musical, for instead of accepting ready-made opinions (many of which are quoted), they go directly to the scores themselves. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 488-489). |
| LCCN | 59008926 |
Available Items
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions | |
| Music | Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk | ML410.P89 C3 1959 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |