« I composed Pucciniana to mark the centenary of the death of the great composer Giacomo Puccini in 2024. His works have always been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for my work as a composer. With this piece, I wanted to engage with his music and his artistic legacy and express my admiration and gratitude with this sincere tribute.» ANDREA BATTISTONI

CENTENARY
ANNIVERSARY
CREATION

A CANTATA IN HONOUR OF THE MAESTRO

One hundred years ago, on 29 November 1924, one of the greatest opera composers of all time, Giacomo Puccini, died in Brussels following an operation to treat his throat cancer. His last masterpiece, Turandot, was left unfinished. His music ended abruptly after his heroine Liu took her own life… The whole world was shocked by the Maestro’s death but continued to celebrate his genius. To this day, operas around the world stage his works which have moved many a music lover. We have chosen to pay tribute to him with this impassioned concert.

The Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège commissioned Maestro Andrea Battistoni to write a cantata for soprano, tenor, choir, and orchestra, titled Pucciniana in the form of a musical dialogue in five tableaux. One of Puccini’s famous publishers, Casa Sonzogno, has joined in this tribute by publishing this new score, in which each tableau evokes an aspect of the composer’s art. The dialogue discusses the poet Rodolfo, with quotations from La Bohème, some rare piano pieces orchestrated by Maestro Battistoni, a Japanese-style movement evoking the suffering of Madama Butterfly, extracts from an unfinished opera dedicated to Marie-Antoinette and, finally, a climax combining many memories of some of the most sublime melodies by the Maestro from Lucca.

The world premiere of Pucciniana on our stage will take place a century to the day after Puccini’s death and will be preceded by a concert of excerpts from his most famous operas. Definitely one of the highlights of this Puccini Festival Year!

• FOR THE FIRST TIME AT THE ORW !
• WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE TAX SHELTER OF THE FEDERAL BELGIAN GOVERNMENT AND BEL ARTS FUND