Puccini
GIACOMO, an Italian composer and musician; born at Lucca in 1858. He was trained in music at the conservatory of Milan. In 1884 appeared his first opera "Le Villi," but it was not until nine years later upon the appearance of "Manon Lescaut" that his genius received world-wide recognition.
His best known operas include "La Bohême" (1896); "La Tosca" (1900); "Madame Butterfly" (1904), and "The Girl of the Golden West" (1910). The latter piece was written by Puccini es- PUDDING BERRIES pecially for Americans, but it has had a doubtful success. In 1907 Puccini superintended the rehearsals and conducted the performance of his opera "Madame Butterfly" at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. This opera is gen- GIACOMO PUCCINI erally conceded his masterpiece, and Puccini is usually regarded as the successor of Verdi in the development of Italian opera.