Puccini and the moderns: a composer in the 20th century

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)

Puccini was an avid motorist

Sketch from La fanciulla del West

By Alexandra Wilson, 01 May 2024

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“the audience member who expects all of Turandot to sound like ‘Nessun dorma’ is in for a shock”

Isabella Steppan, 19th September

Soprano Elena Stikhina is in demand at the world's major opera houses. Isabella Steppan meets her in Salzburg to discuss the role of Tosca – which she is currently singing in Amsterdam and Vienna – and the reality of life as an opera singer.

A journey through Puccini’s Tuscany

Stephen Pritchard, 12th June

Puccini, who died 100 years ago this year, had a lasting fondness for his native Tuscany – and despite his wealth and fame in later life never moved far from his birthplace in Lucca.

Bachtrack top ten: Giacomo Puccini

Mark Pullinger, 22nd December

Giacomo Puccini knew how to pull the heartstrings in his music. He made his soprano characters suffer... but also composed some of his best music for them.

Impostor turned imp: Gianni Schicchi in Dante and Puccini

Isabella Steppan, 17th September

Isabella Steppan explores Giacomo Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, the third and final part of his Il trittico (The Triptych).

Bachtrack top ten: Dante Alighieri

Mark Pullinger & Elisabeth Schwarz, 13th September

Mark and Elisabeth descend to Hell to find the right soundtrack for Dante Week and to mark the 700th anniversary of the poet’s death.

Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall and beyond

Lawrence Dunn, 10th March

We profile one of the most advanced and best-sounding concert halls in the UK, and take a look further afield at arts and culture across Manchester.

Alexandra Wilson

Professor Alexandra Wilson is a musicologist and cultural historian, with a particular interest in opera. Her books include The Puccini Problem, Puccini’s La bohème, Opera in the Jazz Age, and an edited volume, Puccini in Context. She writes regularly for publications including BBC Music Magazine, Opera and The Critic, as well as for national newspapers, and has contributed essays to the programme books of all the UK’s major opera companies and many abroad. She has taught at the University of Oxford, the Open University, and for 18 years was on the staff at Oxford Brookes University.