Giacomo Puccini's operas are among the most widely performed in the world, and include such masterpieces as La Boheme, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. Yet although critical studies of individual operas have appeared, very few books have examined Puccini's works as a whole from an analytical perspective.

Puccini's operas are among the most popular and widely performed in the world, yet few books have examined his body of work from an analytical perspective. This volume remedies that lack in lively prose accessible to scholars and opera enthusiasts alike.