Puccini’s richly expressive orchestration, gripping storytelling and wonderfully memorable, moving melodies have made him one of the most popular composers in operatic history. Although he came from a family of church musicians, Puccini (born in Lucca, Italy, in 1858) gravitated to opera at an early age. Le Villi (1883), his first opera, was staged at Milan’s prestigious La Scala when he was 26. But it was a trilogy of midcareer works that truly established Puccini’s reputation. La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900) and Madama Butterfly (1904) were phenomenally successful, becoming box-office staples on the international opera circuit. Critics have occasionally baulked at the uncomfortable levels of suffering foisted on his female characters, and scented cultural appropriation in Madama Butterfly and his final opera, Turandot (prem. 1926). But audiences have stayed unwaveringly faithful to Puccini’s heartfelt, emotional style, and few seriously question his status as the finest Italian opera composer since Verdi.