“Inspiration is an awakening, a quickening of all man’s faculties, and it is manifested in all high artistic achievements.”-Giacomo Puccini
Those first few opening words that Madame Butterfly sings, Un Bel Di Vidremeo and their melody will never leave me. As a youngster, I loved the Puccini opera, Madame Butterfly,” and so did my mom. I remember listening to it in my home and seeing it on TV and I’m sure I probably read it. The original Madame Butterfly was a short story by an American writer, John Luther Long and that short story was adapted as a play by theater impresario, David Belasco…so interesting…never knew that!!! I know the Belasco Theatre in NYC very well. Another Puccini favorite was La Boheme, which I saw live during an elementary school trip to the old Brooklyn Academy of Music…Mimi and her love for the poet, Rodolfo who lives in an artist’s garret, never left me. Children should be given the opportunity to hear and enjoy all music genres; though I am a folkie at heart, I do appreciate other genres. Good music is good music.
Italian composer, Puccini, was born today in 1858. His melodies were just so beautiful and the librettos by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa for both Madame Butterfly and La Boheme exquisite and heart-rending.
Ilene On Words 