The film covers a hundred years in the lives of the Ricordi family, the Milan publishing house of the title, and the various composers and other historic personalities, whose careers intersected with the growth of the Ricordi house. It beautifully draws the parallel between the great music of the composers, the historic and social upheavals of their times, as well as the "smaller stories" of the successive generations of Ricordi.

The biographical story of Puccini spans his creative life from early student days to the height of success, including his early flop Madama Butterfly and his incomplete Turandot. Along the way he encounters three women who change his life, including an attractive, beautiful singer whom he drops for a small town girl, and a servant girl who commits suicide over him.

Gaby is expelled from school after a married teacher commits suicide after telling her he can't live without her. Though she has done nothing, she is punished for his act.

Goethe's drama and Gounod's opera "Faust" is treated here like a movie rather than the usual photographed-opera from a stage method. Faust is a man who sells his soul to Mephistopheles in exchange for eternal youth, and the latter, with guileful glee, leads Faust to disaster along the paths of pleasure. Marguerite falls in love with Faust, and suffers as a consequence.

Film version of the Verdi opera about lovers on the run after the accidental death of the girl's father.

A film adaptation of Gaetano Donizetti's famous opera from 1835. Lucia is forced by her brother to marry for political reasons. Her fiancé reacts very badly and curses her. Lucia goes mad and her fiancé kills himself.

Nemorino is hopelessly in love with Adina but she is attracted to a dashing captain.