Rosa Raisa newspaper that she had playfully told Puccini that he "better be sure to put in plenty of high C's." On October 7, 1924, less than two months before Puccini died, Angelo Scandiani, administrative director of La Scala, wired Herbert Johnson of the Chicago Opera that Puccini and Toscanini had cast three Chicago Opera artists, Rosa Raisa, Edith Mason, and Giaccomo Rimini, for the lead roles in the upcoming "Turandot". At that time it was thought that the premiere would take place in April 1925, but Puccini's death at the end of November 1924 postponed these plans; Franco Alfano was selected
Festival Puccini Festival Puccini The Festival Puccini (Puccini Festival) is an annual summer opera festival held in July and August to present the operas of the famous Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. The Festival is located in Torre del Lago, Italy, a town located between Lago di Massaciuccoli and the Tyrrhenian Sea, from the beaches of Viareggio on the Tuscan Riviera and from Pisa and Lucca, Puccini's birthplace. In presenting four or five performances of up to four operatic productions each season, the Festival attracts about forty thousand spectators to its open-air theatre, the "Teatro dei Quattromila" (so named for its seating capacity,