Giacomo Puccini "La bohème" was "Tosca" (1900), arguably Puccini's first foray into "verismo", the realistic depiction of many facets of real life including violence. Puccini had been considering an opera on this theme since he saw the play "Tosca" by Victorien Sardou in 1889, when he wrote to his publisher, Giulio Ricordi, begging him to get Sardou's permission for the work to be made into an opera: "I see in this "Tosca" the opera I need, with no overblown proportions, no elaborate spectacle, nor will it call for the usual excessive amount of music." The music of "Tosca" employs musical signatures for
Giacomo Puccini week of the premiere of Verdi's last opera, "Falstaff", which was first performed on 9 February 1893. In anticipation of the premiere, "La Stampa" wrote that Puccini was a young man concerning whom "great hopes" had a real basis (""). Because of the failure of "Edgar", however, a failure of "Manon Lescaut" could have jeopardized Puccini's future as a composer. Although Giulio Ricordi, head of Casa Ricordi, was supportive of Puccini while "Manon Lescaut" was still in development, the Casa Ricordi board of directors was considering cutting off Puccini's financial support. In any event, ""Manon Lescaut" was Puccini's first and