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
Madame Butterfly (short story) Henry Hwang wrote a play entitled "M. Butterfly" which is a commentary on the racist stereotypes in the Puccini opera. Despite the tragic tone of the play, Hwang obviously satirizes Western ignorance about Asia and the fantasy of the passive Asian woman. David Cronenberg adapted the play into a film in 1993. The production of the play caught the attention of Giacomo Puccini, who would compose the Orientalist opera "Madama Butterfly" to a libretto based on Belasco's play and Long's short story. The original version of the opera, in two acts, had its premiere 17 February 1904 at La Scala