The Life & Times of Puccini – A talk by Sarah Lenton

Puccini only completed six major operas. Those operas, however, (including Madam Butterfly, Tosca and La Bohème) are the shows that keep most opera houses afloat. Puccini was a theatre man to his fingertips, a fine stage director, a man who practically invented the cross-fade dawn effect – and yet he left a pile of unfinished works behind him. This lecture explores why such a popular and successful composer had such a baffling career, and how his experience exemplifies the turbulent changes of the 20th century artistic world.

Sarah Lenton has spent her working life in the theatre: her principal employers are the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Garsington Opera. She writes programme articles, radio and play scripts, gives lectures on the operas and ballets in the rep. and broadcasts regularly for BBC Radios 3 and 4. She is also a cartoonist.