The Strains Of Puccini echo around Lucca

Sometimes there are advantages in staying late at one's desk. This was certainly the case the other night when the piazza below my window was filled with the music of Puccini and even a little Mozart was added for good measure.  I often feel life in Lucca is a bit like living on a film set. The scenography is beautiful and certainly perfect for Puccini after all Lucca is his hometown.  The piazza where he was born and grew up sometimes houses recitals of his music and what the piazza lacks in acoustics is certainly made up for in atmosphere. The occasion of the concert the other evening was the official opening of the new ticket office and information centre for the Puccini museum, which is in the composer’s childhood flat.  The arrival of the singers by horse and carriage all added to the theatre. When Puccini’s music sails up to my window I still feel a shiver in my spine. We hear Puccini so often that sometimes it is easy to forget what a wonderful melody this man could write. No wonder his still has fans all over the planet but I am the lucky one as I can just lean on the windowsill  while listening with a prosecchino on my hand.