Happy Birthday Puccini!!

The great operatic composer was born on this day in 1858. Visit Puccini.com, where you can listen to some of the music he composed, read about his operas, and read about him. (The site does not have the reading material; it links to articles on other sites.) At Last.fm, they say:

Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) is regarded as one of the great operatic composers of the late 19th and early 20th century. … Known for his melodic ability, orchestra depth, and dramatism, in Italian opera, Puccini was the only true successor to Giuseppe Verdi. Puccini was born in Lucca, Italy into a family with a long history of music. After the death of his father when he was only five years old, he was sent to study with his uncle Fortunato Magi, who considered him to be a poor and undisciplined student. Later, he took the position of church organist and choir master, but it was not until he saw a performance of Verdi’s Aida that he became inspired to be an opera composer. He and a friend walked an entire 18.5 miles (30 Kilometers) to see the performance in Pisa. In 1880, Puccini travelled to the Conservatory of Music in Milan to begin his career by studying composition with Amilcare Ponchielli. © 2009 Last.fm Ltd. All rights reserved

On the site about Puccini, Last.fm has some tracks you can listen to as well as some videos you can watch. Enjoy!