Chapter 18 - Puccini’s Conductors

Summary

Puccini’s career coincided with the emergence of the concept of modern baton conducting. This chapter considers the people who conducted the premières of Puccini’s operas, as well as significant revivals during his lifetime. Particular attention is given to Arturo Toscanini, by far the most important of the conductors with whom Puccini worked personally. The two men had a close collaborative relationship, with Toscanini even pencilling revisions on to the score that were later incorporated into printed editions. As well as collaborating with Puccini in Italy, Toscanini was instrumental in getting the composer’s works better known in the USA. Other significant conductors of Puccini’s lifetime who are discussed here include Luigi Mancinelli, Leopoldo Mugnone, and Cleofonte Campanini. The chapter also discusses later conductors – many, though not exclusively, Italian – who specialised in Puccini, as well as others (predominantly German and Austrian) who were critical of the composer and refused to conduct his works. Herbert von Karajan, Zubin Mehta, and Antonio Pappano are among the Puccini specialists discussed at the chapter’s conclusion.