A few months later, Puccini chose Murger’s *La Vie de Bohème*, and the libretto was once again entrusted to Illica, with the collaboration of Giuseppe Giacosa. The work, marked by a series of ups and downs in enthusiasm and uncertainty – which would remain a constant feature of Puccini’s career – spanned the whole of 1894 and 1895. It was not until 1 February the following year that La Bohème had its premiere in Turin: to a lukewarm reception, which, however, grew into a resounding success during subsequent performances and when the opera was staged in other Italian theatres. Meanwhile, Giacomo Puccini was often on the road, attending performances of his operas in various Italian cities and abroad: as early as 1892 he had been in Madrid for Edgar and in Hamburg for Le Villi; he then travelled to Vienna and Paris, where in 1898 he presented La Bohème to great acclaim. However, the search for a new subject for his next opera became one of Puccini’s main concerns: and the project for Tosca resurfaced, entrusted to the tried-and-tested expertise of Illica and Giacosa. The drafting of the libretto was once again a laborious process, partly due to the reservations of the publisher and Giacosa, and partly due to the effort required to adapt to Sardou’s demands. As with La Bohème, the public’s first encounter with Tosca (Rome, 14 January 1900) was not particularly enthusiastic, but it took only a few months for the new opera to enter the repertoire of Europe’s major theatres.

In July 1900, Puccini saw Long and Belasco’s play *Madame Butterfly* in London: this subject was chosen, setting aside other ideas, including one based on Marie Antoinette. Illica and Giacosa were still at work, grappling with their usual doubts; but the slow progress this time was also caused by a serious car accident (February 1903), which left Puccini with a broken leg and a particularly long convalescence. The first version of Madama Butterfly, in two acts (Milan, La Scala, 17 February 1904), was a resounding failure; but just three months later, the revival in Brescia, in three acts, with some alterations and extensive cuts, sealed the opera’s success. Now there was renewed talk of Marie Antoinette, and of a trilogy based on stories by Gorky; it was also a time of trips to London and a long stay in Buenos Aires (1905). Then came New York (1907), where Giacomo Puccini had the opportunity to see a play by Belasco, which would form the basis of his new opera La fanciulla del West. The librettists this time were Carlo Zangarini and Guelfo Civinini, and the premiere took place, to great acclaim, at the Metropolitan in New York (10 December 1910).