BBC - Great Composers (1997) Part 7 Puccini

A landmark series that goes beyond the famous melodies and magnificent musical landscapes to explore the men and myths. Great Composers presents the lives and works of seven musical giants from the Baroque era to the twentieth century. It examines the backgrounds, influences and relationships that make these seven composers part of the very fabric of the history of western music. Each composer's life and work is presented through extensive performance sequences, and through interviews and comment from some of today's greatest artists and most respected authorities. Further insights are gained through the use of dramatization and specially-staged set pieces. Contributors to the series include Sir Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Valery Gergiev, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Colin Davis, Cecilia Bartoli, Ton Koopman, Michael Tilson Thomas, Maxim Vengerov, Andras Schiff, Thomas Hampson, Vladimir Ahskenazy, Yevgeny Kissin, Jonathan Miller, The Lindsays, Simon Callow and many more.

Series Executive Producer Kriss Rusmanis ; A BBC/NVC Arts/Thirteen WNET Co-Production in Association with RAI Thematic Channels.

Part 7 Puccini Giacomo Puccini is today the most popular of opera composers, but not necessarily the most respected. From humble origins in the town of Lucca in Tuscany, he rose from the Milan Conservatoire to compose some of the greatest Italian operas. His love of his home and its local lake, his serial infidelities, his unhappy marriage, his obsession with hunting and his final illness are told alongside the story of his music. Interviewees include Puccini's grand-daughter Simonetta Puccini, opera producer and actor Simon Callow, experts Julian Budden, William Ashbrook, Leonardo Pinzauti, Alan Sievwright and conductor Sir Charles Mackerras. The programme contains extracts from his operas, sung by Jose Cura, Leontina Vaduva and Julia Migenes, with conductor Richard Buckley and the BBC Phiharmonic.

Produced and Directed by Chris Hunt

Full Version Available Upon Request
Episode One Shown Here