Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (; 22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian opera composer who has been called "the greatest composer of Italian opera after Verdi". Puccini's early work was rooted in traditional late-19th-century romantic Italian opera. Later, he successfully developed his work in the realistic "verismo" style, of which he became one of the leading exponents. Puccini's most renowned works are "La bohème" (1896), "Tosca" (1900), "Madama Butterfly" (1904), and "Turandot" (1924), all of which are among the important operas played as standards. Puccini was born Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria
Franco Leoni Grand Opera Society (1994) and the Frankfurt Opera, 2009, with another run scheduled for 2011. Franco Leoni Franco Leoni (24 October 1864 – Hampstead 8 February 1949) was an Italian opera composer. After training in Milan, he made most of his career in England, composing for Covent Garden and West End theatres. He is best known for the opera "L'Oracolo", written for Covent Garden but taken up successfully by the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In addition to his operas, Leoni wrote several cantatas and oratorios and many ballads and other songs. He also worked as a conductor in London,