A Life with Puccini—
Maestro DeRenzi on the Enduring Appeal of Puccini’s Music By Marina Harss, writer and journalist Maestro DeRenzi, and Sarasota Opera, have a long history with the music of Giacomo Puccini. The first opera by Puccini DeRenzi conducted was Tosca in New York City back in 1969. His first Puccini opera at Sarasota Opera was Il tabarro, in 1987. Since then, the company has performed every Puccini opera, multiple times, with the exception of the composer’s two youthful works, Le villi and Edgar. (However, we’ll be hearing music from those two operas in this concert.) In fact, DeRenzi has conducted more than 300 performances of Puccini’s operas over the course of his long career. Like Verdi’s operas, Puccini’s music is essential to Sarasota Opera’s repertoire, as it is to the repertoire of almost every opera company around the world. In fact, it has become almost synonymous with opera itself. Recently, DeRenzi reflected on why Puccini has become so ingrained in our idea of what an opera should be, as well as on his own trajectory through the music and dramatic imagination of the composer who brought us La bohème, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Manon Lescaut, and other great works. Marina Harss: Why did you decide it was the right time for a Puccini Concert, and how did you think about the pieces to include in the program?
