In 1908 alone, Tosca was heard in 53 French opera houses, 12 in Spain, eight in both Austria and Germany and three in Switzerland. The premiere of Madam Butterfly in 1904 was greeted by an uproar of jeers, whistles and farmyard noises, largely engineered by Puccini's enemies who were by this time understandably worried about his rapid rise to fame. La Boheme, premiered by Toscanini in 1896 and arguably Puccini's finest opera, caused the critics all sorts of problems, both in terms of the 'Oriental' harmonies of the third act and its generally fast-moving, almost conversational styles. Even the critics loved it, one journalist excitedly referring to Puccini as the "next Bizet or Massenet".
Puccini could hardly have wished for a better start then with his first opera Le Villi which was premiered in May 1884. He described Stravinsky's Rite of Spring as "the creation of a madman". Judged by contemporary standards, Puccini was something of a conservative. Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) was an Italian composer whose operas, including La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot are among the most frequently performed.
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