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Puccini met Elvira Gemignani in 1884 whilst giving her piano lessons. She was to become his lover though she was already married. Soon it became clear that she was expecting a child and not…

Giulia Manfredi, lover of Giacomo Puccini

𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄-𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐄-𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐍 — 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑, 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐋, 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑, 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐌 Few figures in nineteenth-century French culture united so many apparently contradictory identities as 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝. She…

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐁𝐘 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐄 𝐇. 𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐈𝐈 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒, 𝟏𝟖𝟑𝟏–𝟏𝟖𝟒𝟗 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟎 — 𝐀 𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃 When 𝐅𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧 became 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝’s lover…

𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗟 To say that Frédéric Chopin composed only music for the piano is a useful simplification, but it is…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗜 — 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟴 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝟭𝟴𝟲𝟵–𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟲 There is a final image of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 that is as important as the young…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟴 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱, 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲 — 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟱–𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟲 When 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 returned…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻-𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆, 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 In the summer of 𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟱, the future of 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 remained uncertain. He was fifteen years…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟮 — 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗵 The final years of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 form one of the most moving…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟳 — 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗔 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗔 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥 The courtship of 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 and 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜 𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗪𝗘𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗚𝗘, 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗪 𝗢𝗙 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛 By the time Rupert Hughes brings 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗿 to the final…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜 𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 - 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗕𝗨𝗠𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗘𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 In Rupert Hughes’s portrait of Beethoven, love does not enter as a graceful ornament, nor as…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗜 𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗪𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘𝗥 — 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗔𝗥𝗧, 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗜𝗡 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 After the dazzling and restless world of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁, Rupert Hughes turns to a…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗜 𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗦 𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗗, 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗥 Rupert Hughes begins the second volume of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗢𝗳 𝗧𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀, 𝗔 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗢𝗳 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝘆, 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗶𝗰 𝗚𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶 was one of the most spectacular Italian tenors of the twentieth century, a singer whose name still…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦, 𝗪𝗜𝗧, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗘𝗖𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗜𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗢 𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗜 Few great composers have left behind an image as irresistible, theatrical, and paradoxical as 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗶. He was at once a…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁, 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘆 & 𝗛𝗮𝘄𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘃 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁. 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟲 — Indian Gallop 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟳 — March (I); Waltz (I); Rondo 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟴 — March (II); March (I) for piano four hands…

𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗞: 𝟭𝟬 𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗗𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 Antonin Dvorak is often presented as a genial national composer, a master of melody, and the author of some of the most beloved orchestral music ever written.…

# **PSYCHOLOGICAL PORTRAITS OF TOSCA, CAVARADOSSI, AND SCARPIA** ## **I. Floria Tosca — The Woman Torn Between Faith, Passion, and Instinct** Floria Tosca is one of opera’s most psychologically multidimensional heroines. Onstage she appears…

Doria Manfredi, Giulia Manfredi's cousin, committed suicide after being unable to bear the unjust accusation that she was Puccini's lover. Photograph: Paolo Benvenuti / The Observer .

𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐓-𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃, 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄, 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐋, 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐗 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍’𝐒 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐃𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭-𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝, later known as 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐂𝐥é𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫-𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝, was born in 1828 into a family…

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐁𝐘 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐄 𝐇. 𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐈𝐈 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒, 𝟏𝟖𝟑𝟏–𝟏𝟖𝟒𝟗 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟗 — 𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐎𝐓 Among the many women who entered 𝐅𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐤…

𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐎𝐙 — 𝟐𝟎 𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒, 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄 Michel Corboz was never one of those conductors who built a public image around theatrical gestures or celebrity.…