Libretto
Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, after the novel by Carlo Gozzi. Franco Alfano completed the opere after Puccini’s death..
First performance
Milan, Teatro alla Scala, April 26, 1926.
Trama
It was Renato Simoni who proposed to Puccini the subject of what would become his final opera, in 1920. The composer was immediately fascinated by the story, and began a long and complex creative journey that would last until the end of his life, marked by moments of great enthusiasm alternating with phases of uncertainty, tensions with the librettists, and subsequent reconciliations.
A decisive turning point came in August of that year in Bagni di Lucca, when the librettists presented the composer with the completed project. On that occasion, Puccini played a music box that had belonged to Baron Edoardo Fassini-Camossi, with Chinese melodies that would later be incorporated into the opera.
When tje project was suspended in the spring of 1924, Puccini had completed the orchestration of the first two acts and the third, up to Liù’s aria “Tu che di gel sei cinta.” When he left for Brussels, he took with him some sketches for the final duet.
The first performance of Giacomo Puccini’s final masterpiece took place at La Scala on April 25, 1926. The composer had died in Brussels on November 29, 1924, without completing the score. Arturo Toscanini had asked Franco Alfano to prepare a finale, which remained problematic. On the night of the premiere, Toscanini put his baton down midway through the third act and announced that the performance would end, as that was as far as Puccini composed before his death: a gesture that has remained in the history of La Scala.