Giacomo Puccini refuting the allegations made against her. Elvira Puccini was prosecuted for slander, and was sentenced to more than five months in prison, although a payment to the Manfredi family by Puccini spared Elvira from having to serve the sentence. Some music critics and interpreters of Puccini's work have speculated that the psychological effects of this incident on Puccini interfered with his ability to complete compositions later in his career, and also influenced the development of his characters such as Liù (from "Turandot"), a slave girl who dies tragically by suicide. According to documents found in the possession of a descendant
Joann Alfano Joann Alfano JoAnn Alfano is an American television producer. She replaced Suzanne Daniels as Executive Vice President, Entertainment, Lifetime Networks in late 2008. Prior to starting TV Tray Entertainment in June 2007, Alfano was President of Broadway Video Television, where she developed and executive produced NBC's "30 Rock" and the ABC series "Sons and Daughters". Alfano rose through the ranks at NBC, from New York-based publicist to become Senior Vice President of Drama Development, and then Senior Vice President of Comedy Development. She also was Vice President of Prime Time Series for NBC Studios. Before that, Alfano was Director of