普契尼(1858～1924年)
Puccini, Giacomo (Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria)
义大利作曲家。出生於管风琴演奏家和唱诗班指挥的世家，在听了威尔第的《阿依达》後决心写作歌剧。在米兰音乐学院师从庞基耶利（A. Ponchielli, 1834～1886）。在音乐出版商里科尔迪（G. Ricordi）和博伊托听过他从头到尾演唱其第一部歌剧《随想交响曲》後，他获得了表演机会。第二部歌剧《爱德加》（1889）虽然未获成功，但《曼侬.莱斯科》（1893）为他赢得国际声誉。《波希米亚人》刚开始不怎麽成功，但《托斯卡》成功了。受雇的捧场者扰乱了《蝴蝶夫人》（1904）在史卡拉歌剧院的首演，但次年重演时引起热潮。因家庭丑闻使他心烦意乱，《西部女郎》在大都会歌剧院初演时已是1910年。随後在1918年演出三部曲《三联剧》（包括《贾尼.斯基基》）。死前是世界上最受欢迎的歌剧作曲家，他未完成的《杜兰朵》由阿尔法诺（Franco Alfano, 1875～1954）完成。
English version：
1858～1924年
Puccini, Giacomo (Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria)
Italian composer. Born into a family of organists and choirmasters, he decided to write operas after hearing G. Verdi's A?da. At the Milan Conservatory he worked with Amilcare Ponchielli (1834-1886). His first opera, Le villi (1883), was performed after the publisher Giulio Ricordi and A. Boito heard him sing through it. His second, Edgar (1889), was a failure, but Manon Lescaut (1893) brought him international recognition. La bohème (1896) was not initially a success, but Tosca (1900) was. A paid claque disrupted the La Scala premiere of Madam Butterfly (1904), but the next year's revival was a hit. A domestic scandal distracted him, and it was 1910 before The Girl of the Golden West premiered at the Metropolitan Opera. The trilogy Il trittico (including Gianni Schicchi) followed in 1918. He was the most popular opera composer in the world at the time of his death; his unfinished Turandot was completed by Franco Alfano (1875-1954).