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G. Puccini
Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| lifedate | 1858-1924 |
| significance of his opera? | heroines had vivid musical portraits. |
| style | supreme melodist, used rubato effect, arias begin high and lower throughout the piece |
| famous works | manon lescaut, Tosca(operas) |
| verismo | Italian for "realism", story line projects gritty realism usually ending violently |
| aria | Italian for "air", solo song heard in opera, oratorio, or cantata, |
| play by | david belasco |
| genre | Italian verismo opera |
| librettists | Giuseppe Giacosa, luigi illica |
| main characters | cio-cio-san(soprano), Suzuki(mezzo Soprano), B.F. Pinkerton(Tenor), Sharpless(baritone) |
| act 1 | pinkerton buys home, marries Japanese woman, until he marries a real American woman |
| act 2 scene 1 | three years later, pinkerton still hasn't returned from America, sharpless is about to tell butterfly the news, decides not to. pinkerton arrives to shore but does not come home |
| act 2 scene 2 | butterfly guesses what happened, receives news that pinkerton wants the child, she tells him to come and get him, and later kills herself with a knife after telling boy to go play |
| famous part | un bel di, vedremo(butterfly defends her husband) |