"Opera Meets New Media" sheds new light on the Puccini era After Mozart and Verdi Giacomo
Puccini is the third most performed opera composer in the world today. On the centenary of his
death Bertelsmann and the Archivio Storico Ricordi present Opera Meets New Media a richly
illustrated volume published to accompany the multimedia exhibition of the same name at the
Scala Museum in Milan Italy. Puccini celebrated his greatest successes at a time of disruptive
media innovations. The age of mechanical reproduction brought with it the development of new
entertainment technology above all film and sound recordings which soon became mainstream.
These technological advancements represented a revolution for society and musical culture in
the early twentieth century fundamentally challenging the traditional business model of opera.
How could music publishers rise to this challenge? Puccini and his publisher Ricordi provide a
fascinating case study on the subject. In this book edited by Gabriele Dotto ten experts shed
light on different aspects of the topic. The book showcases historical records costumes
choreography gramophones photographs posters postcards sheet music and set designs and
will be a delight to any opera fan.
