That Bastard, Puccini – Park Theatre
James Inverne has written a fascinating new play based upon the rivalry between the two Italian opera composers, Giacomo Puccini and Ruggero Leoncavallo, at the end of the 19th century. At that time, as Inverne explains in his programme introduction, Milan was a hive of theatrical creativity with numerous composers competing to be the successor to Verdi. This play, which has its premiere at the Park 200 theatre, focuses on the race between two composers to produce a new opera entitled La Boheme, based on the 1851 book by Henri Murger.
The play starts in Leoncavallo’s living room, with him railing to his wife against Puccini, who he claims, has stolen his idea for the opera after a conversation in a coffee shop. Puccini’s account is very different, claiming that he had had the origi...