Reinout Bosman
During my vacation I always have a lot of 'tenor days'. For me, those are days when I spend about 14 hours a day on music, by studying the scores of, among others, the Traviata, Rigoletto, Madame Butterfly and the Bohemian.
In addition, I do an infinite number of voice exercises and I alternate studying with giving my own concerts and I like to visit towns where the great Italian opera stars and writers have lived.
For example, last year I was in Modena at the house of Luciano Pavarotti, I recently learned where in Florence Mario del Monaco lived and Caruso's house, just outside Florence, is still on my to-do-list to see.
Via the Boheme to Lucca
Rehearsing it Chegelida manina from Giacomo Puccini's Bohème inspires me to learn more about Puccini's life. Although I study much more Verdi than Puccini at the moment (for Puccini your voice needs a little more 'weight') and because of that I know more about Verdi than Puccini, I can't control my curiosity to investigate who Giacomo was exactly right. And to know more about Puccini, you must first travel to Luccahis native village.
Casa Puccinic
Once I have entered the city, I soon see the signs to the 'Casa Puccini', which is located on one of the many squares. I walk to the ticket office for a ticket. The saleswoman looks at me with pity when she sees my big smile and I buy my ticket with glittering eyes. "This just might be holy ground for me, ma'am, that's why I'm smiling like that."
She laughs: 'Opera singer, right? Yes, they always laugh here!' She gives me the instructions 'you walk diagonally across the square and then you see the entrance. You have to ring the bell there and it will be on the second floor.'
I frown at her for a moment. To ring? I almost think out loud. As if Puccini himself will soon open the door and prepare the coffee.
I cross the square and with some doubt I ring the bell and a second later I hear a male voice through the intercom: 'Welcome! Do you have a ticket? Great, then I'll let you in. Second floor.'
Completely confused, I enter the building and climb to the second floor. There is a door ajar. I knock and push the door open. The voice of Renata Tebaldi, who Vissi d'arte, Vissi d'amore from Puccini's Tosca sings, echoes across the room.
There is a guy behind the counter who greets me with a smile. 'Welcome. Here is the map with all the instructions. Have fun. You are the only one.'
With bated breath I enter the first room. There are display cases with handwritten scores. It's Puccini's handwriting and the sign says it's the first version of the Bohème. I can't believe my eyes. This is his real work! This is all his! It gives me goosebumps.
As the various opera arias guide me through the rooms, I see costumes and scenes from his various masterpieces. Many books, many writings. Sheet music with fine corrections, notes on the scenery. This man must have been an extreme perfectionist. Almost brilliantly crazy,' I mutter to myself.
But who is Puccini now?
After walking around for a while and especially having experienced the peace and harmony of this perfectionist (his own house is a delight for the eye with all the small details. I must say, he had taste!), I walk back to the boy at the counter. He sees that I am moved and, somewhat taken aback, I ask him who Puccini really was. His story was beyond fascinating.
'I have been working for the Fondazione Giacomo Puccini here in Lucca for a few years now and have read a lot about him. In fact, Puccini has practically become part of my life,” he begins his story. His eyes twinkle.
“Puccini wasn't as brilliant as you think in the beginning. He was not a virtuoso Mozart, but rather a freebooter: a lot of drink, a lot of women. In Lucca he studied music and then went to Milan where he continued his studies at the conservatory, where he studied the Bohemian and the first version of Madame Butterfly wrote. That last one was a disaster, people didn't like it. Until he rewrote it and… it became one of his greatest successes.”
Mascagni, Verdi and Tuscany
Once in Milan, Puccini had Pietro Mascagni as a roommate. A buddy Puccini could relate to, because Mascagni was very disciplined and introduced Puccini to the complex music of Wagner.
Later on, when he also came into contact with Toscanini (who knew how to drill his orchestra as if it were an army), he knew that he had to be inspired by and draw on those who were better than himself. And he did. His sources were artists, performers and composers who inspired him to create the most complex sets and costumes and to write technically enormously complicated operas,
The secret
"But what is the secret of its perfection?" I ask the boy. “Well,” he says, “I think once he knew he wanted to do this, he always made sure that he was challenged by people he looked up to and decided to prove otherwise: he could really do something. '
He looks at me for a moment as I ponder his words. "Wow, that's actually really cool," I finally say. 'Because these are the themes that now also play a role in (Italian) society. We should all be challenged more to bring out the best in ourselves and to give 100% of ourselves every day.'
"Right," the boy says. 'So you see that we can still learn a lot from the past, if we don't find the inspiration in today's society. Fortunately it was written down and we have the history yet.'
I thank the boy very much for all the explanations and, still thinking about everything he has said, I walk outside again. I hear it from the stairwell Nessun Dorma from the Turandot, the last and sadly unfinished opera by Puccini. He died before he could write the ending and left that to other composers.
All'Alba Vincent... at the dawn I will win. As the door closes behind me, I see diagonally in front of me the statue of a proud Puccini looking out over his square, knowing that despite a rough start to his career, he has won at every dawn.
Puccini Museum website:
http://www.puccinimuseum.org/en/
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