by Cheung Ki Kitty. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-126). / Abstract also in Chinese. / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2 --- La boheme (Mimi) --- p.7 / Chapter 3 --- Tosca (Tosca) --- p.26 / Chapter 4 --- Madama Butterfly (Cio Cio San) --- p.45 / Chapter 5 --- Conclusion --- p.62 / Appendix --- p.68 / Bibliography --- p.123

This thesis is a design for Puccini's opera, La Boheme, which I have set in the 1890’s instead of the l830's in which Puccini originally set it. The main reason for this period change is based on the fact that the music, the spirit, and the characters themselves, seem to fit naturally and appropriately into the glitter, the charm, and the artistic mood of the "gay nineties". I have set the opera on the Metropolitan Opera House stage, and have included-photographs of the half-inch scale model constructed for this purpose. The actual settings are simple, suggesting only the basic architectural necessities, in order to allow the background - a system of projection screens and mirrors, to predominate and filter through the action constantly. In designing the costumes, I have adhered closely to the silhouette of the 1890's, exaggerating, simplifying, or emphasizing particular elements in order to heighten their dramatic effect. I have assigned specific, restricted colour schemes to the characters which I considered appropriate and in character. Although I did not rely entirely on artistic works, the majority of the research into the period is centred around the paintings of Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas, and Utrillo, as well as the lithographs and posters of Lautrec, Cheret, and other turn-of-the-century artists. The thesis also includes technical drawings and a lighting layout, section, and instrument schedule. Generally speaking, charm, simplicity, and a romantic mood, are the qualities for which I strove in the design of the opera. / Arts, Faculty of / Theatre and Film, Department of / Graduate

The main aim of the study was to examine and discover the use of the clarinets and bass clarinet, in combination with other instruments, to portray the libretto in Puccini's opera Tosca. • scrutiny of the literature about Puccini's life and works, • an analysis of the score with emphasis on the clarinets', bass clarinet's and singers' parts and specific attention to the demands of the libretto, and • listening to a number of recordings of the opera A variety of different aspects are organized in the following chapters: Chapter 1 consists of general information about the study. Chapter 2 offers a short biography, while Chapter 3 provides a discussion about the libretto. In Chapter 4 the author deals with tonguing and articulation. Chapter 5 examines melodic aspects and Chapter 6 consists of views on dynamic aspects. In Chapter 7 a discussion about rhythmic aspects takes place, and in Chapter 8 the author explores the combination of the clarinets and bass clarinet with other instruments. Finally, Chapter 9 is a summary of the conclusions drawn in this study. • Puccini's predilection for continuous mixing of instrumental colours sometimes makes it difficult to separate the clarinet for analytical purposes. Nevertheless, the importance of the use of the clarinets or bass clarinet can clearly be detected. • Puccini employs all creative and technical capabilities of the clarinet and bass clarinet in creating and changing the atmosphere, depicting human emotions and emphasizing dramatic moments. • Carefully chosen and applied articulation, trills, tremolos and repeated notes in the clarinet and bass clarinet parts are Puccini's gestures in the expression of love, anger and fear. However, articulation in the clarinet and bass clarinet parts mainly matches the other instrumental lines in the orchestra. • Because the clarinet and bass clarinet blend well with any instrument and with the human voice, Puccini uses them in solo parts, in unison with the singer, or as an accompaniment to the singer's line. • As a consequence of Puccini's need to consciously pay minute attention to the details of the libretto, the structure, shape and length of the clarinet phrases constantly change. • Exploring the dynamic's capabilities of the clarinets and bass clarinet presents the wide palette of colours and nuances which these instruments can produce. Puccini uses a large number of dynamic markings in the clarinet and bass clarinet parts. They range between ppp and fff. The piano dynamic level is mainly used to suggest fear and suspicion or to portray lyrical moments in the libretto, while the forte level is a tool to create drama and express human anger, pain, or the struggle between good and bad. • Puccini puts very strong emphasis on rhythm as a device for illuminating the details of the libretto, stage actions, human feelings, and different atmospheres in the opera Tosca. The different rhythmical patterns and changes of metre affect all instruments. Sometimes the clarinet line has the same rhythmical figures as the rest of the woodwind, but very often the clarinet plays a different rhythm from the rest of the orchestra or the singer's melody. / Dissertation (M Mus (Performing Art))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Music / unrestricted

The songs of Puccini provide another approach to understanding the composer's musical development. The objective of the study is twofold; first to provide a discussion of the musical style of Puccini's songs; and second, to show how Puccini utilized and integrated the preexistent material into the operas. The songs are grouped and characterized in three stylistic periods. In each period, Puccini was concerned with different issues in text setting. They anticipated or corresponded to the musical style of his operas, and this is evident by his use of the earlier songs in the later operas. Three examples of such cases are examined. The details involved in the transformation of self-borrowing are illustrated in terms of recomposition, expansion of the vocal line and orchestration. Each case illustrates the textual and/or musical consideration by Puccini of the original source for the new dramatic context of the opera. The borrowed material, often incorporated with new themes and expressive orchestration, blooms as an effective dramatic piece of music in his operas. In addition to the lecture recital, based on the dissertation and given on June 23, 1997, three other public recitals were performed. The first, on February 27, 1989, included works of Schubert, Brahms, Wolf, and Strauss. The second program, an operatic performance of The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky, was given on April 20, 1991. The third recital was performed on February 20, 1995, and included works by Handel, Mozart, Stravinsky, Schubert, Poulenc, and Turina.

Madame Butterfly is analyzed as a cultural icon. Puccini s Madaina Butterfly and the Butterfly icon, i.e. the submissive Oriental beauty who cannot live after her Western lover betrays her, permeate Western stereotypes of Eastern culture. Through this mindset, miscommunication develops. This concept was popularized in David Henry Hwang's play M. Butterfly, which builds upon Puccini's opera. Through the character's misperceptions of each other, the opera's tragic ending is repeated in Hwang's play after the French diplomat Gallimard realizes that his ideal woman is actually a male spy. Traditions regarding homosexuality and cross-dressing help Song to create Gallimard's feminine ideal. The theater contributes through tan and onnagata roles where men are trained to create perfect feminine illusions. These stereotypes are problematic because they do not allow for the complexities that exist in the theater, on film, and in actual events. Through increased sensitivity and awareness, individuals can see past the stereotypes to see other's complexities. / Department of English

The complete process of Giacomo Puccini?s opera called Turandot for DAMU International Master Degree final tasks, that includes the analysis of the play, the characters studies, performance references, the design process and the result of the model making and the photographs The writer personal view on how the story influenced her to created the space.

The diploma thesis „The French horn in operatic works of Giacomo Puccini focusing on operas Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Turandot“ deals with the composer’s life, his operas and instrumental treatment with the French horn. Part of the thesis is the analysis of selected three operas from player’s view on this royal instrument. This thesis aims to bring parts of the French horn from Puccini operas to common reader and help professional musician with their playing.

This work begins with an introduction where I explain the goal of this text. I continue with an overview of my beginnings with work on Il Tabarro from Puccini. I shortly discuss some historical details concerning the opera and give a synopsis of the plot.Then I discuss, in some deatil, the working processes of learning the opera, and give practical suggestions in regards to systematic technigues for learning an opera. I discuss the importance of very soecific work with the breath during the study process. Then I shift the conversation to the dramatic content of the opera which is followed by an interview with Zdeňka Sajfertova. I then offer my own interpretation of the characters, their relationships, and conflicts.The text continuer with a discussion about how our work largely depends on co-working with others, I end with interviews which I conducted as an informational basis for this thesis, followed by a few closing words.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:57:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Ceres Rodrigues Murad.pdf: 3686392 bytes, checksum: ccf7dcf1129072d6537c57a65867fbbb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-06-02 / The present research shows how a project aimed to develop the reading, writing and drawing abilities of students from the lower economic layers of Brazilian population, as well as to improve their musicality, dancing and staging promotes learning and development for all children enrolled in the 1st. grade of basic schooling. For such, it was developed a project called Opera for All (OFAP), involving 31 pupils of a community school, located in the periphery of São Luís, Maranhão, a northeast state of Brazil. The basic assumptions of the research were taken from Vygotskian social historical theory, in special the idea that what is lived through concrete actions is converted in abstract material, in superior mental functions. Since this is an Art project, contradictions typical of this area were generated, provoking choc, destruction and also overcoming of these feelings, promoting, consequently, development. The study offers consistent results, especially in what concerns voluntary attention, self-regulation and self-knowledge. The research points out that: a) the rhyme is an important mediator for autonomous writing, notably when the students are in the processing of acquiring reading and writing abilities; b) observational drawing acts as a facilitator for the elaboration of personal drawings, offering details and references easily appropriated by 6 to 7 years old children; c) both rhymes and observation drawing, when practiced, promote voluntary attention, memory and imagination. The research concludes that the staging and the appreciation of an Opera by children, under the supervision of adults, using well structured activities and meaningful material, involve active and creative actions, which, in turn, propel human development / A presente pesquisa mostra como um projeto de apreciação, leitura, escrita, desenho, musicalização, dança e encenação de uma ópera pode promover a aprendizagem e o desenvolvimento de alunos oriundos das camadas de baixa renda da população brasileira, freqüentando a 1ª. Série do Ensino Fundamental. Para o estudo, foi desenvolvido o Projeto Ópera para Todos (POPT) junto a 31 crianças de uma escola comunitária, situada na periferia de São Luís, Maranhão, nordeste do Brasil. Os estudos foram realizados com base nos pressupostos teóricos vigotskianos, em especial o de que tudo aquilo que é vivenciado por meio da ação concreta se converte em material abstrato, ou seja, em funções mentais superiores. Como a vivência descrita deu-se no campo das artes, as contradições aí implícitas foram responsáveis por choques, destruição, superação e desenvolvimento dos envolvidos. O estudo oferece resultados consistentes sobre o desenvolvimento da atenção voluntária, da auto-regulação da conduta e do autoconhecimento. O trabalho sugere, ainda, que: a) a rima é um mediador importante para a escrita de autoria por parte de alunos que se encontram no início do processo de aprendizagem da leitura e da escrita; b) o desenho de observação atua como facilitador para a elaboração de desenhos de autoria, oferecendo detalhes e referências facilmente apropriadas por crianças na faixa etária de 6 a 7 anos; e c) que tanto a rima como o desenho de observação, ao serem exercitados, promovem a atenção voluntária, a memória e a imaginação. A pesquisa conclui que a apreciação e encenação de uma ópera por parte de crianças e sob a supervisão de adultos, por empregar atividades estruturadas e materiais significativos, envolvendo ações ativas e criativas, impulsionam o desenvolvimento humano