Puccini Festival

Puccini Festival

Every June-August

The Puccini Festival is held annually each summer in Torre del Lago in Tuscany, Italy, to honor and celebrate Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), the Italian composer of such beloved operas as La Boheme and Madame Butterfly. Over the course of each summer from June through August, the festival presents distinguished and often innovative productions of Puccini's works. More than 40,000 music lovers attend ticketed festival concerts and operas each summer. The productions take place in an open-air theatre close to the Villa Mausoleum, where Puccini lived and worked. In addition to musical performances, such collateral events as talks and art exhibitions having to do with Puccini's life and work are held throughout the area all summer.
The festival was founded in 1930 by Giovacchino Forzano, a playwright and librettist, and Pietro Mascagri, a friend from Puccini's school days. Shortly before he died, Puccini had written in a letter to Forzano of his desire to "listen to one of my operas in the open air." Six years after the maestro's death, his friend honored his wish by mounting a production of La Boheme on the lakeshore in front of Puccini's house, on a provisional stage built on piles in the lake. The festival has thrived ever since. In 1966, the performances moved to a large amphitheatre on reclaimed land near the lake harbor. In 2008, the festival plans to open a modern new 3,200-seat open-air theatre that will be the centerpiece of a cultural park celebrating Puccini and his achievements.

CONTACTS:
Fondazione Festival Pucciniano
Piazzale Belvedere Puccini 4
Torre de Lago Puccini (LU) 55048 Italy
www.puccinifestival.it
Italian Government Travel Office
630 5th Ave., Ste. 1565
New York, NY 10111
212-245-5027; fax: 212-586-9249
www.italiantourism.com