Osborne certainly isn't alone in believing that "Puccini was never
to become a great musical dramatist," in finding him epically
inferior to Verdi (whose canon is served well, if superficially, in
Osborne's Complete Operas of Verdi). But while a lack of enthusiasm
about Puccini may be esthetically defensible, it's hardly a good
starting place for a "guide" like this one, "addressed to the
opera-lover" who wants to know more about "the operas he enjoys."
Indeed, the result is a highly uneven volume - often perfunctory,
rarely evocative, occasionally misleading, and colored throughout
by a condescending attitude. For each opera, there's a brief
history of the biographical events surrounding its composition and
a succinct plot summary - both areas handled adequately (with
Osborne getting some wry amusement from the foolish plot of Edgar).
And more than adequate is the third element of Osborne's coverage:
analysis of the opera text, with close-up comparisons to the source
material. (Long excerpts from the novels and plays involved are
used to suggest the compressing, selective libretto-crafting
process.) But when it comes to the music, Osborne is lackluster,
iffy, somewhat offhand. "The Puccinian style is fully formed in
Manon Lescaut," we're told - a comment which is leas praise for
Manon than disdain for the style itself. (Compare Andrew Porter,
who sees the Puccini of Manon as "striving to find his individual
style.") Osborne's quick run-throughs of the scores - pointing out
themes, tricks, tunes, bits of orchestration, etc. - are largely
mechanical: the technical workings and emotional effects of popular
arias are barely explored (Colline's coat song is dismissed with
five words); when Osborne does find favor, it's only in the
blandest, most grudging or backhanded terms; and so the carpings
("Scarpia's music is disappointing throughout the opera") seem to
dominate. True, the lesser-known works - La Fanciulla del West, La
Rondine, II Trittico - receive, by comparison, some boosts,
including a perceptive comparison between the confrontation scene
in Trittico's Suor Angelica with the one in Don Carlos. But most
opera-lovers will find that Osborne has not managed what a writer
on Puccini must manage - an evocation of the glories, along with
the limitations - and this otherwise serviceable reference will
therefore have a limited appeal. (Kirkus Reviews)
While Puccini wrote only twelve operas during a long life--three of
them one-acters designed to be performed together--he has to be
ranked today as the world's most popular composer of opera. His "La
Boheme" and "Tosca" are more frequently performed in the major
opera houses than works by other composers, and "Madame Butterfly"
and "Manon Lescaut" rank not far behind. What is the explanation
for Puccini's enormous success? How do his operas work as music and
drama? What was he like to contemporaries such as Verdi, Toscanini,
and Caruso? Charles Osborne, author of highly successful "Complete
Operas of Verdi" and "Complete Operas of Mozart, " here analyzes
the entire Puccini oeuvre--from "Tosca" and "Turandot" to the
less-often performed "Edgar, La Fanciulla del West, " and "La
Rondine." His fourfold approach--linking biography with musical,
textual, and dramatic analysis--is especially valuable for Puccini,
who revealed many of his personal contradictions in his music and
whose sense of detail can be appreciated by close study of the
scores and characters. For the legions of Puccini lovers
everywhere, this guide to his life and work can serve as an ideal
reference source and opera companion.
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