Editing Giacomo Puccini (section)

==Marriage and affairs==
[[File:Elvira Puccini, Giacomo Puccini, Antonio Puccini (1900) - Archivio storico Ricordi FOTO002876.jpg|thumb|Puccini with his wife Elvira and son Antonio, 1900]]
In the autumn of 1884, in Lucca, Puccini began a relationship with a married woman named Elvira Gemignani ({{née|Bonturi; 1860–1930}}), a former piano student of his. Elvira's husband, Narciso Gemignani, was an "unrepentant womanizer", and Elvira's marriage was not a happy one.<ref name="Girardi" /> Elvira became pregnant by Puccini, and their son, Antonio (1886–1946), was born in [[Monza]]. Elvira left Lucca when the pregnancy began to show and gave birth elsewhere to avoid gossip.<ref name="Girardi" /> Elvira, Antonio and Elvira's daughter by Narciso, Fosca (1880–1968), began to live with Puccini shortly afterwards. Narciso was killed by the husband of a woman that Narciso had an affair with, dying on 26 February 1903, one day after [[#Automobile crash and near death|Puccini's car accident]].<ref name="Girardi" /> Only then, in early 1904, were Puccini and Elvira able to marry, and to legitimize Antonio.

The marriage between Puccini and Elvira was also troubled by infidelity, as Puccini had frequent affairs himself, including with well-known singers such as [[Maria Jeritza]], [[Emmy Destinn]], [[Cesira Ferrani]], and [[Hariclea Darclée]].<ref name="Girardi" /> In 1906, while attending the opening of ''[[Madama Butterfly]]'' in Budapest, Puccini fell in love with Blanke Lendvai, the sister of Hungarian composer [[Erwin Lendvai|Ervin Lendvai]] (his friend and protégé for many years).{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|2002|p=160}} Blanke and Puccini exchanged love letters until 1911, when he started an affair with German aristocrat Baroness Josephine von Stangel, which lasted for six years.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|2002|p=223}}

In 1909, Puccini's wife Elvira publicly accused Doria Manfredi, a maid working for the Puccini family, of having an affair with the composer. After the accusation, Manfredi committed suicide. However, an autopsy determined that Manfredi had died a virgin, refuting the allegations made against her. Elvira Puccini was prosecuted for slander and was sentenced to more than five months in prison, although a payment to the Manfredi family by Puccini spared Elvira from having to serve the sentence.<ref name="AM">{{harvnb|Mourby|2008}}</ref> Some music critics and interpreters of Puccini's work have speculated that the psychological effects of this incident on Puccini interfered with his ability to complete compositions later in his career, and also influenced the development of his characters such as Liù (from ''[[Turandot]]''), a slave girl who dies tragically by suicide.<ref>{{cite web |title=Interview: San Francisco Opera's Music Director Designate Nicola Luisotti on Covent Garden's ''Turandot'' and his plans for his new company |url=http://www.musicalcriticism.com/interviews/luisotti-0109.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230709/http://www.musicalcriticism.com/interviews/luisotti-0109.shtml |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=25 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=26 June 2008 |title=Two films by acclaimed and controversial filmmaker Tony Palmer |url=http://blog.naxos.com/2008/06/26/two-films-by-acclaimed-and-controversial-filmmaker-tony-palmer/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107084753/http://blog.naxos.com/2008/06/26/two-films-by-acclaimed-and-controversial-filmmaker-tony-palmer/ |archive-date=7 January 2009 |access-date=25 August 2012 |publisher=Naxos}}</ref>{{sfn|Weaver|Puccini|1994|p=375}}

In 2007, documents were found in the possession of Nadia Manfredi, a descendant of the Manfredi family, which indicated that Puccini was actually having an affair with Giulia Manfredi, Doria's cousin. Upon the discovery of these documents, the press began to allege that Puccini had fathered Giulia Manfredi's son Antonio, which would make Nadia a granddaughter of Puccini.<ref name="AM" />{{sfn|Espinoza|2007}}