The most celebrated single excerpt from the opera is unquestionably Madame Butterfly’s poignant aria, her expression of belief that her American lover, so long absent from Japan with his fleet, would some day return to her: “Un bel di.” Other popular episodes include the passionate love music of Madame Butterfly and the American lieutenant with which the first act ends, “Viene la sera”; the flower duet of the second act between Madame Butterfly and her servant in which the heroine excitedly decorates her home with cherry blossoms upon learning that her lover is back with his fleet (“Scuoti quella fronda di ciliegio”); the American lieutenant’s tender farewell to Madame Butterfly and the scene of their love idyl from the third act (“Addio fiorito asil”); and Madame Butterfly’s tender farewell to her daughter before committing suicide (“Tu, tu piccolo iddio”).

Tosca—based on the famous French drama of the same name by Sardou, the libretto by Giacosa and Illica—was introduced in Rome on January 14, 1900. It was a blood and thunder drama set in Rome at the turn of the 19th century; the dramatic episodes involved murder, horror, suicide, sadism. The heroine, Floria Tosca, is an opera singer in love with a painter, Mario Cavaradossi; she, in turn, is being pursued by Scarpia, the chief of police. To save her lover’s life, she stands ready to give herself to Scarpia. The latter, nonetheless, is responsible for Cavaradossi’s execution. Scarpia is murdered by Tosca, who then commits suicide.

Two tenor arias by Cavaradossi are lyrical highlights of this opera. The first is “Recondita armonia,” in the first act, in which the painter rhapsodizes over the beauty of his beloved Tosca; the second, “E lucevan le stelle,” comes in the last act as Cavaradossi prepares himself for his death by bidding farewell to his memory of Tosca. The third important aria from this opera is that of Tosca, “Vissi d’arte,” a monologue in which she reflects on how cruel life had been to one who has devoted herself always to art, prayer, and love. In addition to these three arias, the opera score also boasts some wonderful love music, that of Cavaradossi and Tosca (“Non la sospiri la nostra casetta”) and the first act stately church music (“Te Deum”).

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in Oneg, Novgorod, Russia, on April 1, 1873. He attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory for three years, and his musical training ended at the Moscow Conservatory in 1892 when he received a gold medal for a one-act opera, Aleko. In that same year he also wrote the Prelude in C-sharp minor with which he became world famous. His first piano concerto and his first symphony, however, were dismal failures. In 1901 he scored a triumph with his Second Piano Concerto which, since then, has been not only the composer’s most celebrated composition in a large form but also one of the best loved and most frequently performed piano concertos of the 20th century. Rachmaninoff combined his success as composer with that as piano virtuoso. Beginning with 1900 he toured the world of music achieving recognition everywhere as one of the most renowned concert artists of his generation. The first of his many tours of America took place in 1909. He also distinguished himself as a conductor, first at the Bolshoi Theater between 1904 and 1906, and later with the Moscow Philharmonic. As a composer he enhanced his reputation with a remarkable second symphony, two more piano concertos, and sundry works for orchestra. He was a traditionalist who preferred working within the structures and with the techniques handed down to him by Tchaikovsky. Like Tchaikovsky whom he admired and emulated, he wore his heart on his sleeve, ever preferring to make his music the vehicle for profoundly felt emotions. His broad rhapsodic style makes his greatest music an ever stirring emotional experience. In 1917 Rachmaninoff left Russia for good, establishing his permanent home first in Lucerne, Switzerland, and in 1935 in the United States. All the while he continued to tour the world as concert pianist. His last years were spent in Beverly Hills, California, where he died on March 28, 1943.

The Prelude in C-sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2 (1892) is Rachmaninoff’s most popular composition; the transcriptions and adaptations it has received are of infinite variety. He wrote it when he was nineteen and instantaneously the piece traveled around the globe. Unfortunately, the composer never profited commercially from this formidable success, having sold the composition outright for a pittance. The Prelude opens in a solemn mood with a theme sounding like the tolling of bells, or the grim pronouncement by some implacable fate. The second theme is agitated and restless, but before the composition ends the solemn first theme recurs. Numerous efforts have been made to provide this dramatic music with a program, including one which interpreted it in terms of the burning of Moscow in 1812.

The Prelude in G minor, op. 23, no. 5, for piano (1904), is almost as famous. The opening subject has the character of a brisk military march, while the contrasting second theme is nostalgic and reflective.

The Vocalise, op. 34, no. 14 (1912) is one of the composer’s best known vocal compositions. This is a wordless song—a melody sung only on vowels, a “vocalise” being actually a vocal exercise. Rachmaninoff himself transcribed this work for orchestra, a version perhaps better known than the original vocal one. Many other musicians have made sundry other transcriptions, including one for piano, and others for solo instruments and piano.

Joachim Raff

Joseph Joachim Raff was born in Lachen, on the Lake of Zurich, Switzerland, on May 27, 1822. He was mostly self-taught in music, while pursuing the career of schoolmaster. Some of his early compositions were published through Mendelssohn’s influence, a development that finally encouraged Raff to give up schoolteaching and devote himself completely to music. An intimate association with Liszt led to the première of an opera, King Alfred, in Weimar in 1851. In 1863, his symphony, An das Vaterland, received first prize from the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. From 1877 until his death he was director of Hoch’s Conservatory in Frankfort, Germany. He died in that city on June 25, 1882.