File:1931 Specht (book).jpg

{de} Richard Specht (1870-1932). Giacomo Puccini: Das Leben, der Mensch, das Werk. Berlin, Germany: Hesse, 1951.

{en} Richard Specht (1870-1932). Giacomo Puccini: The Man, His Life, His Work, tr. Catherine Alison Phillips (1884-1979). London: Dent, 1933. New York, A.A. Knopf, 1933. Repr. Westport, CT : Greenwood Press, 1970.

A biography of the composer.

<Contents> The secret of a world-wide success -- Reminiscences of Puccini: his appearance and character -- The last heir to a msuical tradition -- An excursion into the land of romance (Le Villi) -- Intermezzo Milanese -- Days of depression (Edgar) -- Idyllic scenes (Manon Lescaut) -- Melodia Amorosa (La Boheme) -- The chamber of horrors (Tosca) -- A romance of Japan (Madame Butterfly) -- Uncle GIacomo's cabin (The Girl of the Golden West) -- Driven from paradies (La Rondine and the Trittico) -- A dream of the East (Turandot) -- The mask of suffering.