The Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was the most successful follower of Verdi, continuing the line of Italian operatic composers into the 20th century. Born in Lucca on Dec. 22, 1858, into a family whose members had composed operas of...

The "composer's intention" is a controversial term presently in vogue within musicological discourse, Opera, in both live and filmed productions, is probably the prime battlefield upon which much of the controversy rests. Based on what appears in the autograph score, balanced with accretions...

The plot was not so much Italian opera as Hollywood musical. A young man and woman are in love. She is to star in a show; he wishes to play opposite her, but he is unknown. She challenges him to audition before the composer...

Today is Saturday, Feb. 17, the 48th day of 2007. There are 317 days left in the year.Today's Highlight in History:On Feb. 17, 1801, the House of Representatives broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, electing Jefferson president; Burr became vice president.On...

Audiences are in for a triple treat at the Metropolitan Opera, where the season is winding down just as it began _ with an exciting new production of a Giacomo Puccini masterpiece."Il Trittico," a collection of three very different one-act pieces that opened Friday night,...