In Torre del Lago, by Lake Massaciuccoli, Puccini is writing "The Girl of the Golden West" when his wife Elvira accuses him of a dalliance with their maid, Doria Manfredi, a young women from town. Although the maestro is frequently unfaithful, he denies the affair; Elvira insists she's right and publicly hounds Doria. Between scenes in this domestic drama that turns tragic, we watch a Scottish company rehearse and stage "Turandot," Puccini's last opera. The film finds parallels between the two stories and suggests that in the opera, Puccini expresses love for his wife and guilt in Doria's fate. Three local gentlemen provide a spoken chorus as Puccini's score plays throughout.
Robert Stephens
as Giacomo Puccini
Virginia McKenna
as Elvira
Judith Howarth
as Doria / Liu
Robert Urquhart
as Doria's Father
Bill Fraser
as Fucini, the Lawyer
William Squire
as Giacchi, the Doctor
Peter Woodthorpe
as Umberto Manfredi
Andrew Cruickshank
as Father Michelucci
Phil McCall
as Gnicche
Rupert Graves
as Tonio
Ronald Pickup
as Giulio Ricordi
