"Puccini the Thinker traces Puccini's development as an opera composer and thinker, focusing on the composer's ideas as they appear in his operas. This book, written for the operagoer and the admirer of Puccini's operas in addition to the musicologist, has chapters on all of Puccini's operas and divides them into three general categories: myth and vision; God, religion, and the Roman Catholic Church; and economics, politics, and society.

Within these three subdivisions, this book explores the growth of Puccini's thought, dramatic skills, and ideas. Puccini the Thinker also includes a short biography of the composer, descriptions of notable productions of his operas, and discussions of major Puccinian singers and conductors."--BOOK JACKET.