CONCERTS

Passionate Puccini

Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 12, 2024 at 2:30 p.m.

California Theatre
San Jose, CA

Concert Length
Approx. 1 hr 50 min. with intermission

Artists

  • Carlos Vieu, conductor
    Jennifer Schuler, soprano
    Ben Gulley, tenor
    Gary Simpson, baritone
    Symphony San Jose
    Symphony San Jose Chorale

Program

  • Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

    Selections from...
    Manon Lescaut
    La Fanciulla del West
    La Bohème
    Madame Butterfly
    Turandot
    …and more…

About This Performance

We pay tribute to the great Italian opera composer on the 100th anniversary of his death. Carlos Vieu returns in this retrospective that will feature operatic highlights from Giacomo Puccini’s early, middle, and late career masterpieces.

Three of opera’s leading soloists, Jenny Schuler, Gary Simpson, baritone, and Ben Gulley, along with the Symphony San Jose Chorale, perform some of Puccini’s most memorable arias, duets, and choruses, including “The Humming Chorus,” “O mio babbino caro,” and “Nessun Dorma.”

Where Have I Heard It Before?

Perhaps the most famous opera composer of all time, his music is regularly used in movies, television shows, commercials, and video games. Among many memorable cinematic placements, O mio bambino caro was featured in Room with a View, and The Humming Chorus was featured in House of Gucci.

Fun Facts

Puccini was considered one of the most commercially successful composers of all time. He was worth roughly $200 million dollars when he died—a stark contrast to his youth, when he had to pawn his possessions regularly just to cover basic expenses.

Puccini’s full name was Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini. He was named after four recent ancestors.