Chapter 9 - Musical Influences, Parallels, and Borrowings

Summary

This chapter examines Puccini’s relationship with the international musical scene of his day and considers the influence of contemporary progressive musical developments on his own musical style. The author considers Puccini’s attitude towards the music of Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, Georges Bizet, Jules Massenet, Claude Debussy, Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, and others. He pinpoints where techniques borrowed from these figures can be found at specific moments in Puccini’s scores. In some cases, Puccini imitated aspects of plot or characterisation; in others he borrowed specific musical devices. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the ways in which Puccini drew inspiration for his operas from a variety of different national musical styles: Japanese music for Madama Butterfly, Chinese for Turandot, and American music of various types for La fanciulla del West.