Puccini

Puccini — Plot

In Torre del Lago, by Lake Massaciuccoli, Puccini is writing "The Girl of the Golden West" when his wife Elvira accuses him of a dalliance with their maid, Doria Manfredi, a young women from town. Although the maestro is frequently unfaithful, he denies the affair; Elvira insists she's right and publicly hounds Doria. Between scenes in this domestic drama that turns tragic, we watch a Scottish company rehearse and stage "Turandot," Puccini's last opera. The film finds parallels between the two stories and suggests that in the opera, Puccini expresses love for his wife and guilt in Doria's fate. Three local gentlemen provide a spoken chorus as Puccini's score plays throughout.

• Release date
• January 1, 1984
• Runtime
• 113 min
• Genres
• Documentary, Drama
• Director
• Tony Palmer

Puccini — Cast

Robert Stephens Giacomo Puccini Virginia McKenna Elvira Judith Howarth Doria / Liu Robert Urquhart Doria's Father Bill Fraser Fucini, the Lawyer William Squire Giacchi, the Doctor

P

Peter Woodthorpe Umberto Manfredi Andrew Cruickshank Father Michelucci