Born on December 22 in Lucca, Tuscany, Giacomo Puccini has been called "the greatest composer of Italian opera after Verdi".  

While his early work was rooted in traditional late-19th-century romantic Italian opera, he successfully developed his work in the realistic verismo style, of which he became one of the leading exponents.

His full name was Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini. He came from a lineage of church musicians. Puccini became a church organist himself when he was 14 but would soon discover he preferred opera.

Puccini's uncle, Fortunato Magi, was his first music instructor. This was followed by Carlo Angeloni, the director of the Instituto Musicale Pacini. He studied at the Milan Conservatory from 1880 to 1883 where Antonio Bazzini and Amilcare Ponchielli became his teachers. Puccini was also also influenced by the works of Giuseppe Verdi, specifically his opera "Aida." It is said that around 1876, Puccini, then about 18, walked 13 miles to a theater in Pisa to hear Aida, and immediately decided to become an opera composer.

Among Puccini's notable works are "Le villi" (1884), "Edgar" (1889), "Manon Lescaut" (1893), "La Bohème" (1896), "Tosca" (1890), "Madama Butterfly" (1904), "La fanciulla del West" (The Girl of the Golden West, 1907) and "Turandot" which was left unfinished when Puccini died.

 

Watch Anna Netrebko perform Puccini's famous aria 'O mio babbino caro" (Oh my beloved father) from his opera Gianni Schicchi (1918)

 

 

The success of La Bohème would earn Puccini the lifelong enmity of Leoncavallo. It also made him famous and exceedingly wealthy. With the earnings he built a villa on Florences Lake Massaciuccoli that he named Torre del Lago. Puccini was famously handsome and charming, but he also possessed a melancholic side that he drew on to give depth to his characters. He was wholly uninterested in religion or politics, and enjoyed racing sports cars on his property and gambling at cards.

The composer was nearly killed in automobile accident in 1903, but managed to finish one of his most popular works during his convalescence. Madama Butterfly premiered at La Scala in February of 1904, but its storylinea Japanese woman who falls in love with an American navalofficerbrought jeers from the audience. It is believed that hecklers were hired by composers who were jealous of Puccinis success.

In 1924 Puccini was diagnosed with throat cancer, and underwent radiation treatment in Brussels. While there, he suffered a heart attack on November 29. The announcement of Puccinis death halted a performance of La Bohème at La Scala. Benito Mussolini gave a eulogy at his funeral.

Turandot premiered at La Scala in April of 1926, conducted by Toscanini. On that night, the action and music froze just where Puccini had left it, and Toscanini turned to the audience with tears in his eyes and said, Here the Maestro put down his pen. Like Madama Butterfly, Turandot employs an Asian setting and female lead, and remains one of Puccinis most enduring works. A composer named Franco Alfano was later hired to complete the third act. In September of 1998, Turandot was staged in Beijing, China, in a $15 million production conducted by ZubinMehta that attracted opera fans from around the world.

Puccini's residence has been turned into a museum called "Villa Museo Puccini" where Puccini, his wife and their son are buried in a chapel within the premises.