Giacomo Puccini is famous for his soaring melodies and heartbreaking arias, but his genius extended far beyond the vocal line.

In this episode of Lives in Song, host Flora Willson sits down with Carlo Rizzi, world-renowned conductor and Artistic Director of Opera Rara, to explore Puccini's mastery of the orchestra.

Maestro Rizzi takes us deep into the score, explaining the technical challenges of conducting Puccini’s signature rubato and revealing why he believes the composer’s orchestration rivals that of Strauss or Wagner.

He also shares personal stories from his own life in music, including a vivid memory of the La Scala audience expressing their displeasure at a performance of Turandot.

We also get an inside look at two of Carlo’s major recent projects: his Symphonic Suites, which reimagine Tosca and Madama Butterfly without voices, and Opera Rara’s ground-breaking recording of the 1921 version of La Rondine—a version the composer fought for, but which has never been performed as he intended until now.

"When you shape a phrase of Puccini, it's completely different... You need more input from the conductor. Because, you know, Puccini is incredibly particular about what he wants. He's so detailed." — Carlo Rizzi

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome to Lives in Song: Puccini

01:51 Recording the 1921 Version of La Rondine

05:07 Buying Scores at Age Nine

07:46 A Night at La Scala: A Turandot to Remember

10:47 Defending Puccini: The Genius of His Orchestration 1

4:24 From Student Work to Masterpiece: The Capriccio Sinfonico

17:14 The Conductor’s Craft: Shaping Puccini’s Rubato

21:21 Villains with Class: Scarpia in Tosca

23:22 Puccini Without Words: Creating the Symphonic Suites

30:36 Reimagining the Score: Putting the Orchestra Centre Stage

34:43 Why Puccini Endures: Speaking to the Human Experience

36:59 Listener Q&A: Fulfilling Puccini’s Final Wish

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CREDITS

Host: Flora Willson

Audio Engineer: Phoebe Murdoch

Videographer: Robin Bharaj

Producer: Jason Caffrey

Executive Producer: Zachary Vanderburg