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
Ninette (opera) to a more romantic story, set in 17th-century Paris, and featuring dramatised versions of two historical characters, Cyrano de Bergerac and Ninon de Lenclos, the "Ninette"of the title. The opera was staged before Edmond Rostand's play about Cyrano, which was written the following year. The Cyrano presented by Lecocq's librettists differs considerably from Rostand's version, being a dashing, confident and good-looking hero. Act I: Place Royale<br> The setting is Paris in 1640. Cyrano de Bergerac, the famous poet and duellist, loves and is loved by Ninon de l'Enclos (Ninette), a famous Parisian beauty. The two have exchanged letters, each containing