Opera in four acts by Puccini to a libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica after Henry Murger's Scènes de la vie Bohème (1896, Turin). Leoncavallo wrote a four-act opera on scenes from the same book (1897, Venice).
La bohème
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bohème, La (Bohemian Life) (Puccini). Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica; 4 acts; first performance Turin 1896, conducted by Arturo Toscanini.
Paris, 1830: It is Christmas Eve. Rodolfo and Marcello are in their attic room. Colline and Schaunard arrive, bringing wine and meagre rations. They dine and celebrate Christmas. Their landlord, Benoît, attempts to extract rent from them. Rodolfo decides to finish his poetry while the others set off for the Café Momus. As he writes, Mimì knocks on the door - she lives in a nearby room and her candle has gone out. She is about to leave, but starts to cough and has to rest. The candle blows out again and she drops her key. As they try to find it in the dark, their hands touch. They tell each other of their lives and aspirations, declare their love, and leave to join the others at the café. There, Marcello's old love, Musetta, enters with the wealthy Alcindoro. She makes sure Marcello notices her - clearly they still love each other. After sending Alcindoro on an errand, she and Marcello reavow their love and she joins the rest of them for supper. They depart, leaving their bill for Alcindoro to pay on his return. Two months later Mimì, frail and wracked by coughing, seeks out Marcello at a tavern. She and Rodolfo must separate - his jealousy is making their life impossible. Rodolfo emerges from the inn and regretfully he and Mimì agree to part. As they sing their farewells, Musetta and Marcello quarrel. Back in the attic some months later, Rodolfo is missing Mimì and Marcello longs for Musetta. The four friends try to cheer themselves up by playing the fool. They are interrupted by the arrival of Musetta - downstairs is Mimì, who is dying from consumption. They help her up to the attic and on to a bed. Their friends leave Rodolfo and Mimì together to reaffirm their love. They return and Rodolfo goes to speak to them. He is the last to realize that Mimì is dead.
| Classical Work: La bohème, opera |
- Date: 1896
- Composer: Giacomo Puccini
- Period: Romantic (1820-1869)
Review
It was perhaps a common interest in the nineteenth century cultural fad of Bohemianism that led Giacomo Puccini and his contemporary Ruggiero Leoncavallo to decide to compose operas on the theme of Parisian starving artists. Whatever the initial catalysts, an 1893 meeting of the two composers, in which Puccini casually mentioned his La bohème project, induced the composers to publish in the Milanese press notices in which each laid a claim of priority to the subject. The validity of Puccini's claim is by no means certain. Nevertheless, although contemporary critics received Puccini's La bohème coolly after its premiere under Arturo Toscanini in Turin on February 1, 1896, it was a hit with the public, and has endured as a favorite in the operatic repertoire.La bohème was the first libretto for Puccini on which Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa collaborated. By 1893, Puccini was considering composing an opera on Henri Murger's novel Scènes de la vie de bohème. Murger's work, originally published (1845-1849) as a series of stories in a French journal, led an intermediary existence as a stage play before being transformed into a novel. Murger's novel enjoyed a favorable reception in Italy shortly after its initial publication and first translation into Italian in 1859.
Some of Puccini's loveliest lyrical moments grace La bohème. Rodolfo's first aria "Che gelida manina" in Act One, introduces a primarily conjunct melody of touching simplicity, conveying the innocence of pure love. This melody returns at the end of Act One, as Mimì and Rodolfo exit, and again, in Act Four as Mimì, on her deathbed, reminisces with Rodolfo on their first encounter. Puccini's debt to Wagner's leitmotivic procedure is also evident in his association of the music from Mimì's Act One aria "Mi chiamo Mimì," with Mimì herself, when it accompanies her later entrance in Act Three. This technique of associating music with characters incorporates timbral as well as thematic elements. The magical, sustained string instrumentation for the second-inversion D major triad that announces Mimì's entrance in Act One is also the principal color in the orchestral accompaniment of her signature aria. Classic Puccinian orchestration and harmonic language mark the depiction of daybreak that opens Act Three. Here, flutes in parallel fifths peck out a modal melody, punctuated at phrase ends by subtle, sustained upper strings over tremolo cellos. A harp solo adds a delicate brilliance to the sparse orchestral palette and foreshadows the hazy timbre of the off-stage women's chorus. Puccini's expressive use of the orchestra is linked most intimately with the drama in Act Four. After Schaunard tells Marcello of Mimì's death, the orchestra drops out, leaving only a sustained A in the double bass to convey a sense of dramatic expectation and musical continuity. Even the soloists leave their songful world for one of spoken declamation until the orchestra explodes with C sharp minor triads in the brass, reflecting Rodolfo's realization of Mimì's death and accompanying his anguished cries. ~ All Music Guide
Albums with Complete Performances of the Work
Albums with Excerpt Performances of the Work
| Wikipedia: La bohème |
For Ruggero Leoncavallo's opera of the same name, see La bohème (Leoncavallo). For the Deep Forest album, see Boheme (album). For all other uses, see La bohème (disambiguation).
| Giacomo Puccini |
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Operas
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La bohème is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger.[1] The world première performance of La bohème was in Turin on February 1, 1896 at the Teatro Regio[2] (now the Teatro Regio di Torino) and conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini. Since then La bohème has become part of the standard Italian opera repertory and is one of the most frequently performed operas internationally. According to Opera America, it is the second most frequently performed opera in the United States,[3] just behind another Puccini opera, Madama Butterfly. In 1946, fifty years after the opera's premiere, Toscanini conducted a performance of it on radio with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. This performance was eventually released on records and on Compact Disc. It is the only recording of a Puccini opera by its original conductor (see Recordings below).
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Origin of the story
According to its title page, the libretto of La bohème is based on Henri Murger's novel, Scènes de la vie de bohème, but that novel is a collection of vignettes with no unified plot. Like the 1849 play by Murger and Théodore Barrière, the opera's libretto focuses on the relationship between Rodolfo and Mimì, ending with her death. Also like the play, the libretto combines two characters from the novel, Mimì and Francine, into a single Mimì character.
Much of the libretto is original. The main plots of acts two and three are the librettists' invention, with only a few passing references to incidents and characters in Murger. Most of acts one and four follow the novel, piecing together episodes from various chapters. The final scenes in acts one and four — the scenes with Rodolfo and Mimì — resemble both the play and the novel. The story of their meeting closely follows chapter 18 of the novel, in which the two lovers living in the garret are not Rodolphe and Mimì at all, but rather Jacques and Francine. The story of Mimì's death in the opera draws from two different chapters in the novel, one relating Francine's death and the other relating Mimì's.[1]
The published libretto includes a note from the librettists briefly discussing their adaptation. Without mentioning the play directly, they defend their conflation of Francine and Mimì into a single character: "Chi puo non confondere nel delicato profilo di una sola donna quelli di Mimì e di Francine?" ("Who cannot detect in the delicate profile of one woman the personality both of Mimì and of Francine?") At the time, the novel was in the public domain, Murger having died without heirs, but rights to the play were still controlled by Barrière's heirs.[4].
Meaning of the title
Since the 16th century, the French word bohémien was used to refer to gypsies, based on the erroneous belief that they come from Bohemia.[5] As gypsies are associated in the common imagination with a wild and free life separate from rigid society, the name came to be associated with the counter-culture of young artists and other rebels in the Latin Quarter of 19th century Paris. This was a common colloquial term in Paris, when Henri Murger used it in the title of the stories which eventually became the basis for the opera. The fame of Murger's stories carried the term to the world beyond Paris and into other languages, such as English, where "bohemian" has a similar connotation.
The word bohème denotes the place where these bohemians live, and thus translates to "Bohemia". When referring to the geographic region, the preferred French spelling was (and is) Bohême, with a circumflex. Murger encouraged the alternate spelling of bohème, with a grave accent, to specify the conceptual Bohemia he wrote about. In the preface to Scènes de la vie de bohème he wrote, "La Bohème, c'est le stage de la vie artistique; c'est la préface de l'Académie, de l'Hôtel-Dieu ou de la Morgue." ("Bohemia is a stage in artistic life; it is the preface to the Academy, the Hôtel-Dieu [hospital], or the Morgue.)
Although Puccini's opera is in Italian, it was given a French title, shortening Murger's title to simply La bohème. A literal translation of this would be "Bohemia" but in the poetic sense of the word, not the geographic. (It has sometimes been rendered in English as "The Bohemian Girl", possibly under the influence of Michael Balfe's opera of that name, but that is erroneous. "The Bohemian girl" (or gypsy girl) would be bohémienne.)
Performance history
Initial success in the 1890s
The world première performance of La bohème was in Turin on February 1, 1896 at the Teatro Regio[2] (now the Teatro Regio di Torino) and was conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini. The opera quickly became popular throughout Italy and productions were soon mounted at the Teatro di San Carlo (14 March 1896, with Elisa Petri as Musetta and Antonio Magini-Coletti as Marcello), the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (4 November 1896, with Amelia Sedelmayer as Musetta and Umberto Beduschi as Rodolfo), the Teatro Costanzi (17 November 1896, with Maria Stuarda Savelli as Mimì, Enrico Giannini-Grifoni as Rodolfo, and Maurizio Bensaude as Marcello), La Scala (15 March 1897, with Angelica Pandolfini as Mimì, Camilla Pasini as Musetta, Fernando De Lucia as Rodolfo, and Edoardo Camera as Marcello), La Fenice (26 December 1897, with Emilia Merolla as Mimì, Maria Martelli as Musetta, Giovanni Apostolu/Franco Mannucci as Rodolfo, and Ferruccio Corradetti as Marcello), the Teatro Regio di Parma (29 January 1898, with Salomea Krusceniski as Mimì, Lina Cassandro as Musetta, Pietro Ferrari as Rodolfo, and Pietro Giacomello as Marcello), and the Teatro Donizetti di Bergamo (21 August 1898, with Emilia Corsi as Mimì, Annita Barone as Musetta, Giovanni Apostolu as Rodolfo, and Giovanni Roussel as Marcello).[6]
The first performance of La bohème outside Italy was at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 16 June 1896. The opera was given in Alexandria, Lisbon, and Moscow in early 1897. The United Kingdom premiere took place at the Theatre Royal in Manchester, on 22 April 1897, in a presentation by the Carl Rosa Opera Company supervised by Puccini.[7] The performance was given in English and starred Alice Esty as Mimì, Bessie McDonald as Musetta, Robert Cunningham as Rodolfo, and William Paull as Marcello.[7] On 2 October 1897 the same company gave the opera's first staging at the Royal Opera House in London and on 14 October 1897 in Los Angeles for the opera's United States premiere. The opera reached New York City on 16 May 1898 when it was performed at Palmo's Opera House with Giuseppe Agostini as Rodolfo. The first production of the opera actually staged specifically for the Royal Opera House occured on 1 July 1899 with Nellie Melba as Mimì, Zélie de Lussan as Musetta, Fernando De Lucia as Rodolfo, Enrico Caruso as Parpignol, and Mario Ancona as Marcello.[6]
The German premiere of La bohème took place at the Kroll Opera House in Berlin on 22 June 1897. The French premiere of the opera was presented by the Opéra-Comique on 13 June 1898 at the Théâtre des Nations. The production used a French translation by Paul Ferrier and starred Julia Guiraudon as Mimì, Jeanne Tiphaine as Musetta, Adolphe Maréchal as Rodolfo, and Lucien Fugère as Marcello. The Théâtre de la Renaissance presented the opera in 10 October 1989 with Cécilie Thévenet as Musetta, Julien Lepestre as Marcello, and Gabriel Soulacroix as Rodolfo.[6]
20th century
La bohème continued to gain international popularity throughout the early 20th century and the Opéra-Comique alone had already presented the opera one hundred times by 1903. The Belgian premiere took place at La Monnaie on 25 October 1900 using Ferrier's French translation with Marie Thiérry as Mimì, Léon David as Rodolfo, Eugène-Charles Badiali as Marcello, and Philippe Flon conducting. The Metropolitan Opera staged the work for the first time on 26 December 1900 with Nellie Melba as Mimì, Annita Occhiolini-Rizzini as Musetta, Albert Saléza as Rodolfo, Giuseppe Campanari as Marcello, and Luigi Mancinelli conducting.[6]
The opera was first presented in Brazil at the Teatro Amazonas in Manaus on 2 July 1901 with Elvira Miotti as Mimì, Mabel Nelma as Musetta, Michele Sigaldi as Rodolfo,and Enrico De Franceschi as Marcello. Other premieres soon followed:
- Monaco: 1 February 1902, Opéra de Monte-Carlo in Monte Carlo with Melba as Mimì, Caruso as Rodolfo, Alexis Boyer as Marcello, and Léon Jehin conducting.[6]
- Prato: 25 December 1902, Regio Teatro Metastasio with Ulderica Persichini as Mimì,Norma Sella as Musetta, Ariodante Quarti as Rodolfo, and Amleto Pollastri as Marcello.[6]
- Catania: 9 July 1903, Politeama Pacini with Isabella Costa Orbellini as Mimì, Lina Gismondi as Musetta, Elvino Ventura as Rodolfo, and Alfredo Costa as Marcello.[6]
- Austria: 25 November 1903, Vienna State Opera in Vienna with Selma Kurz as Mimì, Marie Gutheil-Schoder as Musetta, Fritz Schrödter as Rodolfo, Gerhard Stehmann as Marcello, and Gustav Mahler conducting.[6]
- Sweden: 19 May 1905, Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, presented by the Royal Swedish Opera with Maria Labia as Mimì.[6]
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 1 February 1896 (Conductor: Arturo Toscanini) |
|---|---|---|
| Rodolfo, a poet | tenor | Evan Gorga |
| Mimì, a seamstress | soprano | Cesira Ferrani |
| Marcello, a painter | baritone | Tieste Wilmant |
| Schaunard, a musician | baritone | Antonio Pini-Corsi |
| Colline, a philosopher | bass | Michele Mazzara |
| Musetta, a singer | soprano | Camilla Pasini |
| Benoît, their landlord | bass | Alessandro Polonini |
| Alcindoro, a state councillor | bass | Alessandro Polonini |
| Parpignol, a toy vendor | tenor | Dante Zucchi |
| A customs Sergeant | bass | Felice Fogli |
| Students, working girls, townsfolk, shopkeepers, street-vendors, soldiers, waiters, children | ||
Synopsis
The story is set in Paris in the period around 1830.[8]
It essentially focuses on the love between the seamstress called Mimì and the poet Rodolfo. They almost immediately fall in love with each other, but Rodolfo later wants to leave Mimì because of her flirtatious behavior. However, Mimì also happens to be mortally ill, and Rodolfo also feels guilt, since their life together likely had worsened her health even further. They reunite for a brief moment at the end before Mimì dies.
Act 1
In the four bohemians' garret
Marcello is painting while Rodolfo gazes out of the window. In order to keep warm, they burn the manuscript of Rodolfo's drama. Colline, the philosopher, enters shivering and disgruntled at not having been able to pawn some books. Schaunard, the musician of the group, arrives with food, firewood, wine, cigars, and money, and he explains the source of his riches, a job with an eccentric English gentleman. The others hardly listen to his tale as they fall ravenously upon the food. Schaunard interrupts them by whisking the meal away and declaring that they will all celebrate his good fortune by dining at Cafe Momus instead.
While they drink, Benoît, the landlord, arrives to collect the rent. They flatter him and ply him with wine. In his drunkenness, he recites his amorous adventures, but when he also declares he is married, they thrust him from the room — without the rent payment — in comic moral indignation. The rent money is divided for their carousal in the Quartier Latin.
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The other Bohemians go out, but Rodolfo remains alone for a moment in order to finish an article he is writing, promising to join his friends soon. There is a knock at the door, and Mimì, a seamstress who lives in another room in the building, enters. Her candle has blown out, and she has no matches; she asks Rodolfo to light it. She thanks him, but returns a few seconds later, saying she has lost her key. Both candles are extinguished; the pair stumble in the dark. Rodolfo, eager to spend time with Mimì, finds the key and pockets it, feigning innocence. In two arias (Rodolfo's Che gelida manina – "What a cold little hand" and Mimì's Sì, mi chiamano Mimì – "Yes, they call me Mimì"), they tell each other about their different backgrounds. Impatiently, the waiting friends call Rodolfo, but, while he suggests remaining at home with Mimì, she decides to accompany him. As they leave, they sing of their newfound love (duet, Rodolfo and Mimì: O soave fanciulla – "Oh gentle maiden").
Act 2
Quartier Latin
A great crowd has gathered with street sellers announcing their wares (chorus: Aranci, datteri! Caldi i marroni! – "Oranges, dates! Hot chestnuts!"). The friends appear, flushed with gaiety; Rodolfo buys Mimì a bonnet from a vendor. Parisians gossip with friends and bargain with the vendors; the children of the streets clamor to see the wares of Parpignol, the toy seller. The friends enter the Cafe Momus.
As the men and Mimì dine at the cafe, Musetta, formerly Marcello's sweetheart, arrives with her rich (and aging) government minister admirer, Alcindoro, to whom she speaks as she might to a lapdog. It is clear she has tired of him. To the delight of the Parisians and the embarrassment of her patron, she sings a risqué song (Musetta's waltz: Quando me n’vò – "When I go along"), hoping to reclaim Marcello's attention. Soon Marcello is burning with jealousy. To be rid of Alcindoro for a bit, Musetta pretends to be suffering from a tight shoe and sends him with it to the shoemaker to be fixed. During the melee that follows, Musetta and Marcello fall into each other's arms and reconcile.
The friends are presented with the bill and to their consternation find that Schaunard's money is not enough to pay it. The sly Musetta has the entire bill charged to Alcindoro. The sound of approaching soldiers is heard, and, picking up Musetta, Marcello and Colline carry her out on their shoulders amid the applause of the spectators. When all have gone, Alcindoro arrives with the repaired shoe seeking Musetta. The waiter hands him the bill, and, horror-stricken at the charge, Alcindoro sinks into a chair.
Act 3
At the toll gate
Peddlers pass through the barriers and enter the city. Amongst them is Mimì, coughing violently. She tries to find Marcello, who lives in a little tavern nearby where he paints signs for the innkeeper. She tells him of her hard life with Rodolfo, who has abandoned her that night (O buon Marcello, aiuto! – "Oh, good Marcello, help me!"). Marcello tells her that Rodolfo is asleep inside, but he wakes up and comes out looking for Marcello. Mimì hides and overhears Rodolfo first telling Marcello that he left Mimì because of her coquettishness, but finally confessing that he fears she is slowly being consumed by a deadly illness (most likely tuberculosis, known by the catchall name "consumption" in the nineteenth century). Rodolfo, in his poverty, can do little to help Mimì and hopes that his pretended unkindness will inspire her to seek another, wealthier suitor (Marcello, finalmente – "Marcello, finally"). Out of kindness towards Mimì, Marcello tries to silence him, but she has already heard all. Her coughing reveals her presence, and Rodolfo and Mimì sing of their lost love. They make plans to separate amicably (Mimì: Donde lieta uscì – "From here she happily left"), but their love for one another is too strong. As a compromise, they agree to remain together until the spring, when the world is coming to life again and no one feels truly alone. Meanwhile, Marcello has joined Musetta, and the couple quarrel fiercely: an antithetical counterpoint to the other pair's reconciliation (quartet: Mimì, Rodolfo, Musetta, Marcello: Addio dolce svegliare alla mattina! – "Goodbye, sweet awakening in the morning!").
Act 4
Back in the garret
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Marcello and Rodolfo are seemingly at work, though they are primarily bemoaning the loss of their respective loves (duet: O Mimì, tu più non torni – "O Mimì, will you not return?"). Schaunard and Colline arrive with a very frugal dinner and all parody eating a plentiful banquet, dance together, and sing. Musetta arrives with news: Mimì, who took up with a wealthy viscount after leaving Rodolfo in the spring, has left her patron. Musetta has found her wandering the streets, severely weakened by her illness, and has brought her back to the garret. Mimì, haggard and pale, is assisted into a chair. Musetta and Marcello leave to sell Musetta's earrings in order to buy medicine, and Colline leaves to pawn his overcoat (Vecchia zimarra – "Old coat"). Schaunard, urged by Colline, quietly departs to give Mimì and Rodolfo time together. Left alone, they recall their past happiness (duet, Mimì and Rodolfo: Sono andati? – "Have they gone?"). They relive their first meeting — the candles, the lost key — and, to Mimì's delight, Rodolfo presents her with the pink bonnet he bought her, which he has kept as a souvenir of their love. The others return, with a gift of a muff to warm Mimì's hands and some medicine, and tell Rodolfo that a doctor has been summoned, but it is too late to help their friend, who lapses into unconsciousness. As Musetta prays, Mimì dies. Schaunard discovers Mimì lifeless. Rodolfo cries out Mimì's name in anguish, and weeps helplessly.
Instrumentation
La bohème is scored for:
- woodwind: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons
- brass: 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, bass trombone
- Percussion: timpani, drum, triangle, cymbal, bass drum, xylophone, glockenspiel, campanelle ("little bell")
Recordings
- Main article: La bohème discography
The discography of La bohème is a long one with many distinguished recordings, including the 1973 RCA Victor conducted by Sir Georg Solti with Montserrat Caballé as Mimì and Plácido Domingo as Rodolfo which won the 1974 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. The earliest commercially released full-length recording was probably that recorded in February 1917 and released on the Italian label La Voce del Padrone.[9] Carlo Sabajno conducted the La Scala Orchestra and Chorus with Gemma Bosini and Remo Andreini as Mimì and Rodolfo. One of the most recent is the 2008 Deutsche Grammophon release conducted by Bertrand de Billy with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón as Mimì and Rodolfo.
There are several recordings with conductors closely associated with Puccini. In the 1946 RCA Victor release, Arturo Toscanini, who conducted the world premiere of the opera, conducts the NBC Symphony Orchestra with Jan Peerce as Rodolfo and Licia Albanese as Mimì. It is the only recording of a Puccini opera by its original conductor. Thomas Beecham, who worked closely with Puccini when preparing a 1920 production of La bohème in London,[10] conducted a performance of the opera in English released by Columbia Records in 1936 with Lisa Perli as Mimì and Heddle Nash as Rodolfo. Beecham also conducts on the 1956 RCA Victor recording with Victoria de los Ángeles and Jussi Björling as Mimi and as Rodolfo.
Although the vast majority of recordings are in the original Italian, the opera has been recorded in several other languages. These include: Wilfrid Pelletier conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus with Eleanor Steber and Armand Tokatyan as Mimì and Rodolfo (French, 1940); Richard Kraus conducting the Deutsche Oper Berlin Orchestra and Chorus with Trude Eipperle and Fritz Wunderlich as Mimì and Rodolfo (German, 1956); and the 1998 release on the Chandos Opera in English label with David Parry conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra and Cynthia Haymon and Dennis O'Neill as Mimì and Rodolfo.
Enrico Caruso, who was closely associated with the role of Rodolfo and sang in the UK premiere of La bohème, never recorded a full version of the opera but recorded several extracts on cylinder beginning in 1906, which still appear on many compilations. Rodolfo's famous aria "Che gelida manina" was recorded not only by Caruso but by nearly 500 other tenors in at least seven different languages between 1900 and 1980.[11] In 1981 the A.N.N.A. Record Company released a six LP set with 101 tenors singing the aria.
The missing act
In 1957 Illica’s widow died and his papers were given to the Parma Museum. Among them was the full libretto to La bohème. It was discovered that the librettists had prepared an act which Puccini decided not to use in his composition.[12] It is noteworthy for explaining Rodolfo’s jealous remarks to Marcello in act 3.
The "missing act" is located in the timeline between the Café Momus scene and act 3 and describes an open-air party at Musetta’s dwelling. Her protector has refused to pay further rent out of jealous feelings, and Musetta’s furniture is moved into the courtyard to be auctioned off the following morning. The four Bohemians find in this an excuse for a party and arrange for wine and an orchestra. Musetta gives Mimì a beautiful gown to wear and introduces her to a Vicount. The pair dances a quadrille in the courtyard, which moves Rodolfo to jealousy. This explains his act 3 reference to the "moscardino di Viscontino" (young fop of a Viscount). As dawn approaches, furniture dealers gradually remove pieces for the morning auction.
Derivative works
In 1959 "Musetta's Waltz" was adapted by songwriter Bobby Worth for the 1959 pop song "Don't You Know?", a hit for Della Reese.[13] The opera was also adapted into a 1983 short story form by the novelist V. S. Pritchett for publication by the Metropolitan Opera Association.[14] La bohème was the basis for Jonathan Larson's 1996 Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical Rent.[15]
La Bohème. Una piccola storia sull'immortalità dell'amore e dell'amicizia by Carollina Fabinger is an illustrated version in Italian for young readers published by Nuages, Milano 2009, ISBN 9788886178891.
Modernizations
Baz Luhrmann produced the opera for Opera Australia in 1990[16] with modernized supertitle translations, and a budget of only AU$60,000. A DVD was issued of the stage show. This version was set in 1957, rather than the original period of 1830.[16] The reason for updating La bohème to this period, according to Baz Luhrmann, was that "... [they] discovered that 1957 was a very, very accurate match for the social and economic realities of Paris in the 1840s."[16] In 2002, Luhrmann restaged his version on Broadway and won a Tony Award.[17] To play the eight performances per week on Broadway, three casts of Mimìs and Rodolfos, and two Musettas and Marcellos, were used in rotation.[18]
References
- ^ a b Groos, Arthur; Roger Parker (1986). Cambridge Opera Handbooks: La bohème. Cambridge University Press. p. 1. ISBN 0521264898.
- ^ a b Budden, Julian (2002). Puccini: His Life and Works. Oxford University Press. p. 494. ISBN 9780198164685.
- ^ "The Top 20". Opera America. http://www.operaamerica.org/content/audiences/Programs/Cornerstones/index.shtml. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
- ^ Julian Budden: "La bohème", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed November 23, 2008), (subscription access)
- ^ Le Nouveau Petit Robert: Dictionnaire de la langue français, 1993
- ^ a b c d e f g h i La bohème performance history at amadeusonline.net
- ^ a b The Manchester Guardian, 23 April 1897, p. 6
- ^ The synopsis is based on The Opera Goer's Complete Guide by Leo Melitz, 1921 version.
- ^ Operadis, La bohème discography
- ^ Tommasini, Anthony, "Look What They're Doing to Opera", New York Times, 22 December 2002
- ^ Shaman, William et al., More EJS: Discography of the Edward J. Smith recordings, Issue 81 of Discographies Series, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999, pp. 455-456. ISBN 0313298351
- ^ Kalmanoff, Martin (1984). "The Missing Act". http://oq.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pdf_extract/2/3/121. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
- ^ Ginell, Cary (2008). "Smart Licensing: Where Have I Heard That Before?". Music Reports Inc. https://www.musicreports.com/content_article.php?article_id=70. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
- ^ Pritchett, V.S. (1983). La Bohème. London: Michael Joseph. ISBN 0718123034.
- ^ Anthony Tommasini (17 March 1996). "Theather; The Seven-Year Odyssey that Led to 'Rent'". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9507E1D91639F934A25750C0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
- ^ a b c Maggie Shiels (10 July 2002). "Baz's Broadway opera". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/2305609.stm. Retrieved 15 August 2008.
- ^ 2002 production details at the IBDB database
- ^ Maggie Shiels (2002-21-10). "Baz's brilliant La Boheme". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/reviews/2346351.stm. Retrieved 15 August 2008.
External links
- Upcoming performances from Operabase.com
- Recording of "Mi chimano Mimì" in German by Lotte Lehmann
- San Diego OperaTalk! with Nick Reveles: La Boheme
- Libretto (in Italian) from OperaGlass
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 | Parpignol (character) |
| Puccini, Giacomo (Fine Arts) |
| McCormack, John (Irish-born American operatic tenor) |
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Mentioned in
- Parpignol (character)
- Puccini, Giacomo (Fine Arts)
- McCormack, John (Irish-born American operatic tenor)
- Paolo (character)
- Giuseppe Giacosa (music)
- Pavarotti, Luciano (Fine Arts)
- Ruggero Raimondi
- Henry Murger (French poet & novelist)
- Jonathan Larson (literature)
- Mario Luperi (Classical Musician)
- Luigi Illica (music)
- Antonio Pini-Corsi (music)
- Verismo (music)
- La Boheme (Teatro alla Scala) (2003 Film)
