This romantic biography of the great Italian operatic composer Giacomo Puccini was directed by the same gentleman who gave us the 1955 MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Carmine Gallone, who made a virtual career in the Italian cinema directing operatic and music-related dramas. Puccini, composer of many of the most beloved Italian operas including TOSCA, LA BOHEME, MADAMA BUTTERFLY, and TURANDOT, is played here as a handsome womanizer by Gabriele Ferzetti. Ferzetti's most famous role would be that of the male lead in Antonioni's L'AVVENTURA. Marta Toren plays the long-suffering wife of the philandering composer. The movie features plenty of music in addition to the romance, and we are treated, through operatic excerpts, to the voices of Beniamino Gigli, Nelly Corradi, Antonietta Stella, and Gino Sinimberghi. It was shot in lovely Technicolor and while it does not expand our basic knowledge of the composer or boast great depth, it is a pleasant, entertaining feature. It is also known as TWO LOVES HAD I and THE LIFE OF PUCCINI.
Review of Puccini
