Play Sample: PUCCINI'S GHOST by Charles Toubin, 2017

Austin writer Charles Toubin share a twelve-page sample of PUCCINI'S GHOST, taken from a true story.

In 1909, Puccini was at the height of his popularity, with three plays being performed all over the world. He was wealthy and had celebrity status. The Metropolitan Opera hd commissioned him to compose a new opera that would be the first opera world premier ever in New York.

At the same time, his wife, Elvira, had been convicted of causing the suicide of a young woman who worked in their house. Elvira accused the woman of seducing her husband and having sex with him in her household.

Madame Puccini slandered the woman for weeks, calling her a whore and being disloyal. The young woman became shunned everywhere in the village, and took poison causing her death.

 

Click to view .pdf sample of the first scenes of PUCCINI'S GHOST.