Sharpenicity

THREE IN A ROW --PUCCINI'S WOMEN Manon Madame Butterfly Turnadot (Not on this year are Mimi/ La Boheme and Tosca.) What they all share—exotic (erotic?) appeal and emotional vulnerability.   And they also made me wonder, what were the real women in Puccini’s life like. It’s complicated.  Puccini began an affair and had a son with a married woman, Elvira, in 1884. After her husband was killed by the jealous husband of his lover in 1904, Elvira married Puccini.  In 1909, Elvira accused  Doria, a maid, of being Puccini’s mistress.  Doria then committed suicide.  An autopsy showed she was a virgin.  As a side note, Elvira was sentenced to 5 months in prison, which she did not have to serve because Puccini took care of things. While all of Puccini’s opera women end up dead,  Liu, the slave girl in Turnadot , is the only one who is not actively engaged in a physical love affair, like Mimi, Tosca, Butterfly an...