On The Creation Of Women Images In Puccini's Major Operas

Puccini, a representative of Italian verism in late 19's and early 20's century, is featured by his creative opinion of displaying and recreating ordinary people's ordinary lives. He was zealous in depicting the low lives at the bottom of the society. In his plays, women played a very important role. Out of the total twelve plays he had written, seven were named after the names of their heroines, not to mention the numerous unforgettable women images created from under his pen. Since the glamour of opera is mainly embodied in the specific images it has created, this thesis tries to probe the techniques and features Puccini employed in his creations of women's images through the comparative analysis of the three representative figures, namely Mimi, Tosca and Madam Butterfly, from both theatrical and musical points of views.The contents are as follows:In Chapter one, Verism and Puccini's Major Operas, the author elaborates Puccini's verism in opera creation, and introduces his three major operas: La boheme, Tosca, and Madam Butterfly.In Chapter two, Comparison of the Three Theatrical Images: Mimi, Tosca and Madam Butterfly, the author, on the basis of the play book, makes a horizontal study of the three female images, pointing out their similarities and differences, and humanity reflected in Puccini's thoughts.In Chapter three, Comparison of the Musical Images of Mimi, Tosca and Madam Butterfly , the author makes a vertical study of the three characters' musical images, studying one by one the shaping and depicting of these characters in music, analyzing comparatively the musical and singing styles in their arias.From the literal and musical points of view, the author makes a minute comparison and elaboration of the three main characters in Puccini's opera, providing us an opportunity to better appreciate the various aspects of Puccini's works from different perspectives, bettering our understanding of the main characters, thus enable us, the aria singers, to present, to mode them more perfectly in real performance.