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
Jacopo Puccini Jacopo Puccini Jacopo (Giacomo) Puccini (; 26 January 1712 16 May 1781) was an 18th-century Italian composer who lived and worked primarily in Lucca, Tuscany. He was the first of five generations of composers, the most famous of whom was his great-great-grandson, the opera composer Giacomo Puccini. Puccini studied in Bologna under Giuseppe Carretti, who was "maestro di cappella" at Bologna's San Petronio Basilica. In Bologna Puccini became friends with Padre Martini. After returning to Lucca in 1739, he served as organist in the cathedral and later Maestro di Cappella to the Most Serene Republic. Puccini belonged to the Accademia