Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine the songs for solo voice with piano accompaniment by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), observing the composer’s evolving compositional style, as well as the songs’ place in the modern voice studio. Puccini’s seventeen songs can be divided into four periods in his life: the early years from 1875-1880, the Milan Conservatory years of 1880-1884, songs from 1888-1899, and his final song period from 1902-1919. Puccini’s songs vary widely in their level of difficulty and ranges, and they can be used as useful tools in the voice studio to address many issues a vocal student might face. Although Puccini is known for the beautiful melodies from his twelve operas, many of which continue to be part of the standard repertoire today, several of those melodies were first used in his songs before he included them in his operas. This paper also examines Puccini’s practice of borrowing source material from his previously composed songs for use in his operas.
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