Product Review

'I lived for art, I lived for love.' Giacomo Puccini wrote these lines for the heroine of his most celebrated work, Tosca. But they equally apply to the composer himself. An unrelenting bon-vivant, Puccini has been called the last great poet of Italian opera, creating some of the most memorable music ever written.

Through his letters, manuscripts and previously unseen family films, the great Puccini comes to life revealing all his successes and his setbacks. From childhood religious processions in the hills of Tuscany to the great opera houses of Europe, Puccini spent a lifetime in search of opulence and spectacle, with a healthy dose of fast cars and faster women.

This series crisscrosses Europe in the footsteps of the world's greatest classical music composers. At each stop, a musician or historian serves as our guide to the great composers' public and private lives. Interviews blend with narration, archive materials and musical sequences to paint

intimate portraits. Follow in the footsteps of: Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Bizet, Puccini, Berlioz, Mahler, Offenbach and Liszt.

Written by ALAIN DUAULT and MATHILDE DESCHAMPS
Directed by MATHILDE DESCHAMPS