- Groos, Arthur. “Madama Butterfly: The Story.” COJ3-2 (July 1991): 125–158.
Identifies the real-life naval officer, William B. Franklin, who was apparently
the model for Pinkerton. Justifies Pinkerton’s behavior to some extent by
describing the Japanese practice of allowing foreign men to marry in the coun-
try on a temporary basis. - Atlas, Allan W. “Crossed Stars and Crossed Tonal Areas in Puccini’s Madama
Butterfly.” 19thCM14-2 (Fall 1990): 186–196.
An ingenious and unusual approach to tonal relations, in which certain keys
have affirmative connotations for given characters and other keys have nega-
tive connotations for them. For example, G-flat major is affirmative for Butter-
fly (“Un bel di”) but negative for Pinkerton. There is also a structural plan for
the opera as a whole. Atlas and Roger Parker (19thCM15-3 [Spring 1992]:
229–234) disagreed over these ideas. - Ross, Peter. “Elaborazione leitmotivica e colore esotico in Madama Butterfly.”
In Esotismo(#1439), 81–110.
Discovers Wagnerian-type leading motives that evolve with the dramatic situa-
tion, and shows how Puccini varied them while preserving an exotic atmosphere.
See also Bögel (#1456).
Manon Lescaut
ASO137 (1991).
- Scherr, Suzanne. “The Chronology of Composition in Puccini’s Manon
Lescaut.” In Giacomo Puccini(#1441), 81–110.
Examines the full score autograph fair copy and finds moments “where Puc-
cini struggled with the emerging new style which was to blossom more fully in
La bohème.” He was in transition “from a style based on the extended scene
to the new temporal aesthetic.” Genesis, important structural analysis, and an
interesting evaluation of the composer: what distinguished him from his con-
temporaries was a “balance of intensities” and “dramatic pacing.” - Scherr, Suzanne. “Editing Puccini’s Operas: The Case of Manon Lescaut.” AM
62–1 (January–April 1990): 62–81.
A useful description of the manuscripts and published versions of the opera,
which was Puccini’s most revised work. Publishing practices of the G. Ricordi
firm at the time also need to be considered in preparing any modern edition. A
table of all known editions corrects and expands Hopkinson (#1436). - Scherr, Suzanne. “Puccini’s Manon Lescaut: Compositional Process, Stylistic
Revision, and Editorial Problems.” Ph.D. diss., U. of Chicago, 1993.
La rondine
- Ashbrook, William. “La rondine.” In Puccini Companion(#1442), 244–264.
Genesis, and three revisions, carefully explored.
282 Opera