Puccini

Within the first five minutes the audience has plenty enough time to learn that Puccini was a vain, boisterous, cruel womaniser... or maybe it's just the flamboyant interpretation of the lead actor, whom I do not know and don't care even to check his name.

Just when you think you have enough of Puccini and his provincial world that should be Tuscany, but looks a lot more like England, the scene cuts to modern times, to a choir rehearsal of one of Puccini's operas...

Weird and useless to the plot and then back again to the past, with three old gossiping men who fill the purpose of providing the background story of Puccini, wifey Elvira and their stormy relationship, followed by an ugly, jealous confrontation at the table between Elvira and maid Doria, during which Puccini just pretends he's not there. What a gentleman... but more of the bouncing forward is to follow.

However, by then I had enough. Even if I like some of Puccini's music, this is definitely one of those cases where the creator and his opera should be kept separated, especially when the creator is unpleasant and his story narrated in such an unappealing way.

I love opera and Puccini's music, and I like a lot of these actors here, so of course I wanted to see Puccini. I found it fascinating and interesting, but it wasn't perfect by all means. The camera work could have been cleaner and sharper than it was, the pace was rather leaden at times and the production sequence despite the wonderful voices and music was rather amateurish in how it was staged. However, the scenery and costumes are lovely, and the music is gorgeous. The trial sequence was interesting too, the writing was overall good and thoughtful and there is a good cast with the likes Virginia McKenna, Rupert Graves, Peter Woodthorpe and Ronald Pickup in support and Robert Stephens in a larger-than-life and believable lead performance. Overall, imperfect but I found it very interesting. 7/10 Bethany Cox