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
The Judgement of Paris (opera) The Judgement of Paris (opera) The Judgement of Paris is an operatic libretto written by William Congreve. It was set by four British Baroque composers - John Weldon, John Eccles, Daniel Purcell and Gottfried Finger - as part of a music competition held in 1700-1701. Thomas Arne later composed a score to the libretto in 1742. Setting: Mount Ida The god Mercury descends from the sky with the golden apple of Discord and asks the shepherd Paris to award it to whichever of the three goddesses - Juno, Pallas and Venus - he finds most worthy. Juno offers him worldly