Tempo in the Soprano Arias of Puccini's La Boheme, Tosca, and Madame Butterfly
Description:... This book seeks to establish the originally intended tempos for the soprano arias in those operas. By Examining Puccini's autographs, the first edition vocal scores, and many early recordings-especially those by the sopranos or conductors who worked with the composer or performed the arias during Puccini's lifetime-the author demonstrates that one can discover tempos for the arias that conform better than others to Puccini's musical and dramatic intentions. A living performance, one that resonates best with the soul of the music, requires a faithful interpretation of the composer's score. This is as true of performances of Puccini's operas as it is for renditions of Beethoven's symphonies and Bach's cantatas. Interpretation of the composer's score is always necessary because the score itself can never include indications of every detail and nuance required for a living performance. Instead, scores are really only approximations, more or less incomplete and imprecise, of the composer's intentions. The composer, consciously or not, always depends upon commonly understood conventions, which together with the notation add up to the intention, the musical work, more or less. Faithful in
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