For the briefest of moments, a silence fell over the pews of New Orleans’ famed St. Louis Cathedral, as the chapel filled ...

Like the great German composer, the Italian opera genius also came from a respected dynasty of church musicians. From the early 18th century onwards, the Puccinis shaped the cultural life of Lucca ...

By coincidence, the initials V-E-R-D-I stood for ‘Vittorio Emmanuel, Re D’Italia’ and everywhere, all over Italy, the composer’s name/political slogan was to be seen. The cries of ‘Viva Verdi’ could ...

Giacomo Puccini then went on to study and work under several other renowned composers in other parts of Italy. Puccini’s first opera was Le Villi, composed when he was 25 years old. He’s more ...

The grave condition of opera in Italy was the reason given recently by Composer Mascagni for endorsing sound films. He even suggested that his own next opera would be composed expressly for the ...

Verdi, on the other hand — his beard was an ungroomed mess.

I couldn’t agree more! Great tunes, an easy-to-follow plot (not always the case with, say, the other great Italian opera composer Verdi), young lovers, and tragedy at the end. The opera is in ...