Exhibition Giacomo Puccini 1858-2008

Giacomo Puccini 1858 – 2008 is an exhibition made up of three macro thematic sections, and is set up in different places:
1. Puccini and Lucca. When I feel nostalgia for my sweet native land
by Gabriella Biagi Ravenni, Giulio Battelli, Giuseppe Pintorno and Dieter Schickling.
Lucca, Palazzo Guinigi
June 14 – December 22
This journey illustrates the link of the Maestro with his native land, from his family links to his relationships with society and the music and cultural environment of Lucca. The Puccini and Lucca exhibition will show 450 objects, historical documents, notarial deeds, letters, precious print scores (lots of which autographic), periodicals of the time, photographs, and a whole bulk of extraordinary material from House of Ricordi’s Archives.
2. Puccini and Celle. A family of musicians
by Gabriella Biagi Ravenni, Giulio Battelli, Giuseppe Pintorno and Dieter Schickling.
Pescaglia (Lucca), Museum at Celle Puccini
June, 21 – September, 28
This journey allows visitors to get acquainted with the Puccini family, the dynasty of composers which covered the most important roles in the music scene of the town for about two centuries. It includes scores which were part of the Puccini family, of the family library which Giacomo Puccini himself donated to the Pacini Music Institute in 1921. They are scores by Giacomo Senior, Antonio, Domenico and Michele. Among the most interesting documents, there are a diary of the Maestro, preserved at the State Archives of Lucca, which “recounts” his career as musician in Lucca, and the works composed by the ancestors of Puccini on the occasion of the “tasche”, the election of the Seniors of the Republic of Lucca, as well as heirlooms, letters, and photographs.
3. Puccini and cinema – Puccini frame by frame
by Pier Marco De Santi
Torre del Lago (Lucca), New Theatre Auditorium
June, 29 – September, 30
Documentaries, videos and a whole section illustrate the homage which cinema paid to the great Maestro. The research conducted for Puccini and cinema produced really unexpected results: materials are coming from museums all over the world. Giacomo Puccini was interested in cinema. On the other hand, lots of film directors loved Puccini’s operas: Cecile B. De Mille and Fritz Lang among the other. A huge retrospective will be set up at the Auditorium in Torre del Lago and will show 95% of inedited material, including also a few audiovisual works, such as the funerals of the composer in Brussels.