File:1980 Greenfeld (book).jpg

{en} Howard Greenfeld. Puccini: A Biography. New York: Putnam, 1980.

"In this portrait of the composer of such notable operas as Tosca, La Boheme, and Madama Butterfly, the author has brought to life the private man as well as the publicly adored musician. Making extensive use of correspondence to, from, and around Puccini, much of which had not been previously published in English, the author traces Puccini's life from its origins in the provincial capital of Lucca to his death from throat cancer in a hospital in Belgium."--

<Contents:> "Only a musician, only a fool" -- Milan: the early years -- The House of Ricordi -- Manon Lescaut -- International fame -- La Bohème -- Tosca -- Madama Butterfly -- "We are the victims of our temperaments" -- Interlude: the search for new subjects -- "The girl is more difficult than I thought" -- Doria: a scandal -- "I have Minnie: the rest is emptiness" -- Second interlude: "Always searching, and finding nothing" -- he war years: La Rondine -- Il Trittico -- Turandot -- "...in the hands of the doctors and of God."