Giacomo Puccini

Giacomo Puccini was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, stemming from the late-Baroque era. Though his early work was firmly rooted in traditional late-19th-century Romantic Italian opera, he later developed his work in the realistic verismo style, of which he became one of the leading exponents.

22 December 1858

Born on the same birth day (22 December): Carole James • Charles Sands • David Wright (politician) • Diane Sawyer • Gary Anderson (darts player) • Jacob Stallings • Mary Archer • Peggy Ashcroft • Pierre Levegh • Robin Gibb • Roger II of Sicily • Stefan Janos (physicist)

Born in the same month (December 1858): Eva Nansen • Juan Luis Sanfuentes • Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko