Appendix III.11. Cantata a Giove

This piece is only mentioned in literature pertaining to Puccini. It is supposed to have been composed in 1897 for chorus and orchestra. However, it is more likely that it probably never existed as a separate work but is really the cantata sung backstage in the beginning of Act 2 of Tosca, the text of which entirely justifies the title “Cantata a Giove.” Furthermore, in 1897 Puccini was already occupied with the composition of Tosca, even if not continuously (see Schickling 1989, 141, and the NOTES to 69). It is possible that misinformed friends of the composer’s erroneously thought it to be a separate work and passed along rumours of its existence after Puccini’s death.