- Atlas, Allan. “Mimi’s Death: Mourning Puccini and Leoncavallo.” JM14–1
(Winter 1996): 52–78.
A comparison of the Puccini and Leoncavallo settings, based on dramatic the-
ory, attempting to demonstrate why Puccini’s version is more emotionally
effective.
Edgar
- “Puccini giovane a Milano: L’opera Edgare le composizioni giovanili.”
Quaderni pucciniani3–1 (1992).
Eight papers about Edgar, from a conference at La Scala, 2 February 1990.
The opera premiered there 100 years earlier. Topics include genesis, libretto,
the context of the times in Italy, and the act 4 prelude. Contents in Fairtile
(#1437), item 676.See also #2466.
La fanciulla del West (Girl of the Golden West)
ASO 165 (1995).
- Rinaldi, Mario. Giacomo Puccini: “La fanciulla del West.”Guide musicali, 3.
Milan: Istituto di Alta Cultura, 1943. 100p.
Not seen; information is from Fairtile (#1437). Cultural context, genesis, and
program notes with some technical observations. Reception of the American
and Italian premieres. - Atlas, Allan W. “Belasco and Puccini: ‘Old Dog Tray’ and the Zuni Indians.”
MR 75–3 (Fall 1991): 362–397.
Looks for source of the aria in act 1, “Che faranno i vecchi miei,” formerly
misidentified as the American song “Old Dog Tray.” The melody is actually
drawn from a Zuni Indian sun dance. - Atlas, Allan W. “‘Lontano-tornare-redenzione’: Verbal Leitmotivesand Their
Musical Resonance in Puccini’s La fanciulla del West.” Studi musicali21–2
(1992): 359–398.
The three words quoted in the title of the article recur in the opera, acting as
“verbal leitmotives.” They function as themes in the reversal of character
experienced by Minnie. - Atlas, Allan W. “Multivalence, Ambiguity and Non-Ambiguity: Puccini and
the Polemicists.” JRMA118–1 (1993): 73–93.
Takes up the currently popular analytic terms of “multivalence” and “ambigu-
ity,” showing (through examples from Manon Lescautand La fanciulla del
West) that the concepts are not necessarily linked. Operas may indeed have
formal structure, which may be based on tonal relations. - Dotto, Gabriele. “Opera Four Hands”: Collaborative Alterations in Puccini’s
Fanciulla.” JAMS42 (March 1989): 604–624.
280 Opera