- Le villi was Puccini’s first opera. He composed it in 1883 for the Sonzogno Competition.
- Ponchinelli was among the competition judges.
- The judges rejected the score, ostensibly because it was illegible.
- Because the publisher Sonzogno rejected this opera, their competitor Ricordi acquired it, and it was a success when it premiered at the Teatro Dal Verme on May 31, 1884.1
Sources
- Michele Girardi, “Puccini, Giacomo (ii),” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed December 26, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-6002278242.
Cut IDs
43822