Puccini Without Excuses
William Berger
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 Vintage Books
ISBN: 1400077788

A Refreshing Reassessment of the World's Most Popular Composer.

For the uninitiated (like me) he is the composer of Tosca, La Boheme & Madame Butterfly, among others, except if you're a movie buff (like me) you've heard a Puccini aria or musical interlude add drama to your favorites flicks -- Moonstruck, The Mirror Has Two Faces, The GodfatherIII, A Room With A View, The Witches of Eastwick, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Untouchables -- to name a few, & while you may not know it (I didn't until I'd read this book), his plots have also trickled down into our popular culture.

Opera was the furthest thing from my mind when I opened the packet bearing William Berger's Puccini Without Excuses. It's not that I don't like it, it's just never seemed relevant to my life, & I'm guilty of the very same snobbery & derision William Berger presents in his introduction: Why Puccini? Why now? All opera ever conjured up for me was massive men & women wearing strange costumes, screaming melodically at the top of their voices while being listened to by haughty dowagers coated with jewels peering through lorgnettes & fellows in “penguin suits” seducing fair maidens in opera boxes ala Marx Brothers' insane A Night at the Opera. In fact, I promptly started listening to DVDs as I read.

You'll enjoy allowing William Berger to disabuse you of your biases -- Puccini Without Excuses is an informative, entertaining & delightfully written introduction to one of the world's most beloved & least respected maestros, & by extension to this art form. Why Puccini in particular? Because he gave us everyday passion & verve, tragedy & music to make our spirits soar, & today, a century after his death, fully one quarter of all opera performances in the US are of his works.

& why does William Berger think, in today's world, Puccini is so relevant? You'll find that out in his analyses of the eight operas Puccini left behind, the last Turandot, while unfinished, is nonetheless performed. & after reading the analyses, you'll know enough to get some tickets or DVDs & follow along.

Certainly one of the more unusual books I've read lately, & one of the most interesting because it ranges across history, music, emotions, popular culture & the ways of genius, without being heavy-handed, pompous or trivial, & William Berger has a delightful sense of humor & an engaging way of expressing his passion -- opera!

Bravo! Even though, I must confess, I have an allergy for this art form!

More from William Berger:
Wagner Without Fear
Verdi with a Vengeance & more!
(01/15/06)

Rebecca