While still a student at the conservatory, Puccini decided to enter a competition to write a one-act opera. Ponchielli's influence helped secure Fernando Fontana as his librettist, and Puccini's first opera Le Villi was entered in the competition. When the result was announced, it did not even receive a mention. However, the influential composer and music critic Arrigo Boito heard Puccini play and sing the opera at a party, and raised funds for it to be performed at the...