La tregenda (Le villi)

Le villi was Puccini’s first stage work, initially conceived as a one-act opera-ballet. He wrote it in 1883, at the age of twenty-five, for a competition organised by the publisher Sonzogno. Although it received no prize, admirers including Arrigo Boito helped finance its premiere at Milan’s Teatro dal Verme on 31 May 1884. The success was overwhelming and led Giulio Ricordi to publish the score, on condition that Puccini expand it into two acts. The young composer continued revising the work until 1892. Even at this early stage, its dramatic instinct, expressive melodic writing and vivid orchestral presence already announce the operatic voice that Puccini would later make unmistakably his own.