National Library hosts concert in tribute to Puccini

The lobby of the National Library, in downtown Rio de Janeiro, will be transformed into a large concert hall this Friday (17), in honor of the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), one of the greatest names in the history of classical music and author of operas such as "La Bohème", "Tosca" and "Madama Butterfly".

With free admission, the "Puccini's Tuscany" event will bring together renowned names in opera music: soprano Greta Doveri, tenor Alan Sciberras, and pianist José Sacramento, starting at 2 p.m. (local time). The performance will be conducted by opera director Vivien Hewitt.

In the repertoire, the public will be able to enjoy works by great Italian composers, such as Puccini, Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) and Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857-1919), as well as compositions by the Brazilian Carlos Gomes (1836-1896).

The initiative is promoted by the Lucchesi nel Mondo Association - whose president, Ilaria Del Bianco, will give an introduction to the public - and carried out in partnership with the Italian Institute of Culture of Rio de Janeiro and the National Library Foundation (FBN), linked to the Ministry of Culture.

Puccini visited Rio de Janeiro in 1905, during a brief stopover aboard the ship Umbria. During that visit, he visited the Botanical Gardens and posed for photographs that, years later, were identified in the National Library's collection and published in the periodical Figuras e Figurões.

More recently, in September 2024, FBN President Marco Lucchesi visited Casa Puccini in Italy, where he identified five new photographs of Puccini's visit to Rio - previously unknown images - with the support of the institution's director, Patrizia Mavilla, and archivist Manuel Rossi.

The find resulted in an exchange of digital files between the National Library and Casa Puccini.