1895 opera by Giacomo Puccini
La boheme
(
LAH
boh-
EM
,
[1]
Italian:
[la
bo??m]
) is an opera in four acts,
[N 1]
composed by
Giacomo Puccini
between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian
libretto
by
Luigi Illica
and
Giuseppe Giacosa
, based on
Scenes de la vie de boheme
(1851) by
Henri Murger
.
The story is set in Paris around 1830 and shows the
Bohemian lifestyle
(known in French as "
la boheme
") of a poor seamstress and her artist friends.
The world premiere of
La boheme
was in Turin on 1 February 1896 at the
Teatro Regio
,
conducted by the 28-year-old
Arturo Toscanini
. Since then,
La boheme
has become part of the standard Italian opera repertory and is one of the most frequently performed operas worldwide.
[4]
In 1946, 50 years after the opera's premiere, Toscanini conducted a commemorative performance of it on radio with the
NBC Symphony Orchestra
. A recording of the performance was later released by
RCA Victor
on vinyl record, tape and compact disc. It is the only recording ever made of a Puccini opera by its original conductor.
La boheme
is also known for being the loose inspiration for the Broadway musical
Rent
by
Jonathan Larson
.
[5]
Origin of the story
[
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]
Rodolfo, costume design by Adolfo Hohenstein for the premiere at the
Teatro Regio
, 1896
Mimi's costume for the premiere
As credited on its title page, the libretto of
La boheme
is based on
Henri Murger
's 1851 novel,
Scenes de la vie de boheme
, a collection of vignettes portraying young
bohemians
living in the
Latin Quarter
of Paris in the 1840s. Although often called a novel, the book has no unified plot. Like the 1849 play drawn from the book by Murger and
Theodore Barriere
, the opera's libretto focuses on the relationship between Rodolfo and Mimi, ending with her death. Also like the play, the libretto combines two characters from the novel, Mimi and Francine, into the single character of Mimi. Early in the composition stage Puccini was in dispute with the composer
Ruggero Leoncavallo
, who said that he had offered Puccini a completed libretto and felt that Puccini should defer to him. Puccini responded that he had had no idea of Leoncavallo's interest and that having been working on his own version for some time, he felt that he could not oblige him by abandoning the opera. Leoncavallo completed
his own version
in which Marcello was sung by a tenor and Rodolfo by a baritone. It was not as successful as Puccini's and is now rarely performed.
[6]
Much of the libretto is original. Major sections 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 book, piecing together episodes from various chapters. The final scenes in acts one and four?the scenes with Rodolfo and Mimi?resemble both the play and the book. The story of their meeting closely follows chapter 18 of the book, in which the two lovers living in the garret are not Rodolphe and Mimi at all, but rather Jacques and Francine. The story of Mimi's death in the opera draws from two different chapters in the book, one relating Francine's death and the other relating Mimi's.
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 Mimi into a single character: "Chi puo non confondere nel delicato profilo di una sola donna quelli di Mimi e di Francine?" ("Who cannot confuse in the delicate profile of one woman the personality both of Mimi and of Francine?"). At the time, the book was in the public domain, Murger having died without heirs, but rights to the play were still controlled by Barriere's heirs.
[7]
Performance history and reception
[
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]
Initial success
[
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]
The world premiere performance of
La boheme
took place in Turin on 1 February 1896 at the
Teatro Regio
and was conducted by the young
Arturo Toscanini
. The role of Rodolfo was played by
Evan Gorga
with
Cesira Ferrani
as Mimi, but Gorga was unable to accommodate the high
tessitura
and the music had to be transposed down for him.
[8]
[9]
The initial response of the audience at the first performance was subdued and critical responses were polarized.
[10]
Despite this varied introductory response, the opera quickly became popular throughout Italy and productions were soon mounted by the following companies: 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 Mimi, Enrico Giannini-Grifoni as Rodolfo, and
Maurizio Bensaude
as Marcello);
La Scala
(15 March 1897, with Angelica Pandolfini as Mimi,
Camilla Pasini
as Musetta,
Fernando De Lucia
as Rodolfo, and Edoardo Camera as Marcello);
La Fenice
(26 December 1897, with Emilia Merolla as Mimi, Maria Martelli as Musetta,
Giovanni Apostolu
and Franco Mannucci as Rodolfo, and Ferruccio Corradetti as Marcello);
Teatro Regio di Parma
(29 January 1898, with
Solomiya Krushelnytska
as Mimi, Lina Cassandro as Musetta, Pietro Ferrari as Rodolfo, and Pietro Giacomello as Marcello);
Paris Opera
(13 June 1898); and the Teatro Donizetti di Bergamo (21 August 1898, with Emilia Corsi as Mimi, Annita Barone as Musetta, Giovanni Apostolu as Rodolfo, and Giovanni Roussel as Marcello).
[11]
[12]
The first performance of
La boheme
outside Italy was at the
Teatro Colon
in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 16 June 1896. The opera was performed 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.
[13]
This performance was given in English and starred
Alice Esty
as Mimi, Bessie McDonald as Musetta, Robert Cunningham as Rodolfo, and
William Paull
as Marcello.
[13]
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
Wallack's Theatre
with Giuseppe Agostini as Rodolfo.
[14]
The first production of the opera actually produced by the Royal Opera House itself premiered on 1 July 1899 with
Nellie Melba
as Mimi,
Zelie de Lussan
as Musetta,
Fernando De Lucia
as Rodolfo, and
Mario Ancona
as Marcello.
[11]
La boheme
premiered in Germany at the
Kroll Opera House
in Berlin on 22 June 1897. The French premiere of the opera was presented by the
Opera-Comique
on 13 June 1898 at the
Theatre des Nations
. The production used a French translation by
Paul Ferrier
and starred Julia Guiraudon as Mimi, Jeanne Tiphaine as Musetta,
Adolphe Marechal
as Rodolfo, and
Lucien Fugere
as Marcello.
[11]
The Czech premiere of the opera was presented by the
National Theatre
on 27 February 1898.
20th and 21st centuries
[
edit
]
La boheme
continued to gain international popularity throughout the early 20th century and the Opera-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 Thierry as Mimi,
Leon David
as Rodolfo, Eugene-Charles Badiali as Marcello, sets by Pierre Devis, Armand Lynen, and Albert Dubosq, and Philippe Flon conducting. The
Metropolitan Opera
staged the work for the first time on 26 December 1900 with
Nellie Melba
as Mimi, Annita Occhiolini-Rizzini as Musetta,
Albert Saleza
as Rodolfo,
Giuseppe Campanari
as Marcello, and
Luigi Mancinelli
conducting.
[11]
La boheme
was the last opera performed at New York's Metropolitan Opera's
original 1883 building
on 16 April 1966, conducted by
George Schick
.
[15]
The opera was first performed in Brazil at the
Theatro da Paz
in Belem on 21 April 1900 with the Brazilian soprano Tilde Maragliano as Mimi, Maria Cavallini as Musetta, Giuseppe Agostini as Rodolfo and Alessandro Modesti as Marcello. The conductor was Giorgio Polacco
[16]
The following year
La boheme
was presented at the
Teatro Amazonas
in
Manaus
, Brazil, on 2 July 1901 with Elvira Miotti as Mimi, Mabel Nelma as Musetta, Michele Sigaldi as Rodolfo, and Enrico De Franceschi as Marcello. Other premieres soon followed:
- Melbourne: 13 July 1901 (
Her Majesty's Theatre
; first performance in Australia)
[17]
- Monaco: 1 February 1902,
Opera de Monte-Carlo
in Monte Carlo with Nellie Melba as Mimi,
Enrico Caruso
as Rodolfo,
Alexis Boyer
as Marcello, and Leon Jehin conducting.
[11]
- Prato
: 25 December 1902, Regio Teatro Metastasio with Ulderica Persichini as Mimi, Norma Sella as Musetta, Ariodante Quarti as Rodolfo, and Amleto Pollastri as Marcello.
[11]
- Catania
: 9 July 1903, Politeama Pacini with Isabella Costa Orbellini as Mimi, Lina Gismondi as Musetta, Elvino Ventura as Rodolfo, and Alfredo Costa as Marcello.
[11]
- Austria: 25 November 1903,
Vienna State Opera
in Vienna with
Selma Kurz
as Mimi,
Marie Gutheil-Schoder
as Musetta, Fritz Schrodter as Rodolfo, Gerhard Stehmann as Marcello, and
Gustav Mahler
conducting.
[11]
- Sweden: 19 May 1905,
Royal Dramatic Theatre
in Stockholm, presented by the
Royal Swedish Opera
with
Maria Labia
as Mimi.
[11]
Puccini died in Brussels on 29 November 1924, and the news of his death reached Rome during a performance of
La boheme
. The opera was immediately stopped, and the orchestra played
Chopin
's
Funeral March
for the stunned audience.
[18]
The first production of
La boheme
at the
Salzburg Festival
did not occur until as late as July 2012. However, that festival has not shown much interest in the operas of Puccini, only ever having one production each of
Tosca
and
Turandot
in its entire history.
[19]
Critical reception
[
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]
Despite the opera's popularity with audiences, Puccini has been the target of condescension by some music critics who find his music insufficiently sophisticated or difficult.
The composer
Benjamin Britten
wrote in 1951, "[A]fter four or five performances I never wanted to hear
Boheme
again. In spite of its neatness, I became sickened by the cheapness and emptiness of the music."
[21]
Roles
[
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]
Act 2 costume design for "la rappezzatrice" (the clothes mender) for the world premiere performance.
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role
|
Voice type
|
Premiere cast, 1 February 1896
[22]
Conductor:
Arturo Toscanini
|
Rodolfo,
a poet
|
tenor
|
Evan Gorga
|
Mimi,
a seamstress
|
soprano
|
Cesira Ferrani
|
Marcello,
a painter
|
baritone
|
Tieste Wilmant
|
Musetta,
a singer
|
soprano
|
Camilla Pasini
|
Schaunard,
a musician
|
baritone
|
Antonio Pini-Corsi
|
Colline,
a philosopher
|
bass
|
Michele Mazzara
|
Benoit,
their landlord
|
bass
|
Alessandro Polonini
|
Alcindoro,
a state councillor
|
bass
|
Alessandro Polonini
|
Parpignol,
a toy vendor
|
tenor
|
Dante Zucchi
|
A customs Sergeant
|
bass
|
Felice Foglia
|
Students, working girls, townsfolk, shopkeepers, street-vendors, soldiers, waiters, children
|
Synopsis
[
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]
- Place: Paris
- Time: Around 1830.
Act 1
[
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]
In the four bohemians'
garret
(Christmas Eve)
Marcello is painting while Rodolfo gazes out of the window. They complain of the cold. 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, wine and cigars. He explains the source of his riches: a job with an eccentric English
gentleman
, who ordered him to play his violin to a parrot until it died. The others hardly listen to his tale as they set up the table to eat and drink. Schaunard interrupts, telling them that they must save the food for the days ahead: tonight they will all celebrate his good fortune by dining at Cafe Momus, and he will pay.
The friends are interrupted by Benoit, the landlord, who arrives to collect the rent. They flatter him and
ply
him with wine. In his drunkenness, he begins to boast of his amorous adventures, but when he also reveals that he is married, they thrust him from the room?without the rent payment?in comic moral indignation. The rent money is divided for their evening out in the
Quartier Latin
.
Marcello, Schaunard and Colline 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. It is a girl who lives in another room in the building. Her candle has blown out, and she has no matches; she asks Rodolfo to light it. She is briefly overcome with faintness, and Rodolfo helps her to a chair and offers her a glass of wine. She thanks him. After a few minutes, she says that she is better and must go. But as she turns to leave, she realizes that she has lost her key.
Her candle goes out in the draught and Rodolfo's candle goes out too; the pair stumble in the dark. Rodolfo, eager to spend time with the girl, to whom he is already attracted, finds the key and pockets it, feigning innocence. He takes her cold hand (
Che gelida manina
?"What a cold little hand") and tells her of his life as a poet, then asks her to tell him more about her life. The girl says her name is Mimi (
Si, mi chiamano Mimi
?"Yes, they call me Mimi"), and describes her simple life as an embroiderer. Impatiently, the waiting friends call Rodolfo. He answers and turns to see Mimi bathed in moonlight (duet, Rodolfo and Mimi:
O soave fanciulla
?"Oh lovely girl"). They realize that they have fallen in love. Rodolfo suggests remaining at home with Mimi, but she decides to accompany him to the Cafe Momus. As they leave, they sing of their newfound love.
Act 2
[
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]
Quartier Latin (same evening)
Set design by
Adolfo Hohenstein
for act 2 in the premiere
A great crowd, including children, has gathered with street sellers announcing their wares (chorus:
Aranci, datteri! Caldi i marroni!
?"Oranges, dates! Hot chestnuts!"). The friends arrive; Rodolfo buys Mimi a bonnet from a vendor, while Colline buys a coat and Schaunard a horn. 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 Mimi dine at the cafe, Musetta, Marcello's former sweetheart, arrives with her rich (and elderly) government minister admirer, Alcindoro, whom she is tormenting. It is clear she is tired of him. To the delight of the Parisians and the embarrassment of her patron, she sings a risque song (Musetta's waltz:
Quando me'n vo'
?"When I go along"), hoping to reclaim Marcello's attention. The ploy works; at the same time, Mimi recognizes that Musetta truly loves Marcello. To be rid of Alcindoro for a bit, Musetta pretends to be suffering from a tight shoe and sends him to the shoemaker to get her shoe mended. Alcindoro leaves, and Musetta and Marcello fall rapturously into each other's arms.
The friends are presented with their bill. However, Schaunard's purse has gone missing and no one else has enough money to pay. The sly Musetta has the entire bill charged to Alcindoro. The sound of a military band is heard, and the friends leave. Alcindoro returns with the repaired shoe seeking Musetta. The waiter hands him the bill and, dumbfounded, Alcindoro sinks into a chair.
Act 3
[
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]
Advertisement for the music score, showing the quartet that ends act 3
At the toll gate at the Barriere d'Enfer (late February)
Peddlers pass through the barriers and enter the city. Mimi appears, coughing violently. She tries to find Marcello, who is currently living in a little tavern where he paints signs for the innkeeper. She tells him of her hard life with Rodolfo, who abandoned her the night before, and of Rodolfo's terrible jealousy (
O buon Marcello, aiuto!
?"Oh, good Marcello, help me!"). Marcello tells her that Rodolfo is asleep inside, and expresses concern about Mimi's cough. Rodolfo wakes up and comes out looking for Marcello. Mimi hides and overhears Rodolfo first telling Marcello that he left Mimi because of her coquettishness, but finally confessing that his jealousy is a sham: 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 Mimi and hopes that his pretended unkindness will inspire her to seek another, wealthier suitor (
Marcello, finalmente
?"Marcello, finally").
Out of kindness towards Mimi, Marcello tries to silence him, but she has already heard all. Her weeping and coughing reveal her presence, and Rodolfo hurries to her. Musetta's laughter is heard and Marcello goes to find out what has happened. Mimi tells Rodolfo that she is leaving him, and asks that they separate amicably (Mimi:
Donde lieta usci
?"From here she happily left"); but their love for one another is too strong for the pair to part. 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 found Musetta, and the couple quarrel fiercely about Musetta's flirtatiousness (quartet: Mimi, Rodolfo, Musetta, Marcello:
Addio dolce svegliare alla mattina!
?"Goodbye, sweet awakening in the morning!").
Act 4
[
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]
Back in the garret (some months later)
Marcello and Rodolfo are trying to work, though they are primarily talking about their girlfriends, who have left them and found wealthy lovers. Rodolfo has seen Musetta in a fine carriage and Marcello has seen Mimi dressed like a queen. The men both express their nostalgia (duet:
O Mimi, tu piu non torni
?"O Mimi, will you not return?"). Schaunard and Colline arrive with a very frugal dinner and all parody eating a plentiful banquet, dance together and sing, before Schaunard and Colline engage in a mock duel.
Musetta suddenly appears; Mimi, who took up with a wealthy viscount after leaving Rodolfo in the spring, has left her patron. Musetta found her that day in the street, severely weakened by her illness, and Mimi begged Musetta to bring her to Rodolfo. Mimi, haggard and pale, is assisted onto a bed. Briefly, she feels as though she is recovering. 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 leaves with Colline to give Mimi and Rodolfo some time together. Mimi tells Rodolfo that her love for him is her whole life (aria/duet, Mimi and Rodolfo:
Sono andati?
?"Have they gone?").
To Mimi's delight, Rodolfo presents her with the pink bonnet he bought her, which he has kept as a souvenir of their love. They remember past happiness and their first meeting?the candles, the lost key (Mimi playfully confesses that she had figured out that Rodolfo had pocketed it). Mimi is overwhelmed by a seizure of coughing. The others return, with a gift of a muff to warm Mimi's hands and a cordial to soothe her cough. Mimi gently thanks Rodolfo for the muff, which she believes is a present from him, reassures him that she is better, and falls asleep. Musetta prays. Schaunard discovers that Mimi has died. Rodolfo rushes to the bed, calling Mimi's name in anguish. He sobs helplessly as the curtain falls.
Instrumentation
[
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]
La boheme
is scored for:
- woodwinds
:
piccolo
, 2 flutes, 2 oboes,
cor anglais
, 2 clarinets (A, B-flat),
bass clarinet
(A, B-flat), 2 bassoons
- brass
: 4
horns
in F, 3 trumpets in F, 3 trombones,
bass trombone
- percussion:
timpani
,
snare drum
,
triangle
,
cymbals
,
bass drum
,
xylophone
,
glockenspiel
,
chimes
- strings
:
harp
, violins I, II, viola, cello, double bass
- off-stage (end of act 2): 4
piccolos
, 6 trumpets, 2
snare drums
(occasionally on-stage)
[24]
Recording history
[
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]
Prop designs for act 2 of
La boheme
for the world premiere performance
The discography of
La boheme
is a long one with many distinguished recordings, including the 1972 Decca recording conducted by
Herbert von Karajan
with
Luciano Pavarotti
as Rodolfo and
Mirella Freni
as Mimi (made before Pavarotti became an international superstar of opera),
and the 1973 RCA Victor recording conducted by
Sir Georg Solti
with
Montserrat Caballe
as Mimi and
Placido Domingo
as Rodolfo which won the 1974
Grammy Award
for Best Opera Recording. The 1959 recording conducted by
Tullio Serafin
with
Renata Tebaldi
as Mimi and
Carlo Bergonzi
was included in the soundtrack of the 1987 movie
Moonstruck
.
The earliest commercially released full-length recording was probably that recorded in February 1917 and released on
HMV
's Italian label
La Voce del Padrone
.
[26]
Carlo Sabajno
conducted the
La Scala
Orchestra and Chorus with
Gemma Bosini
and
Reno Andreini
as Mimi and Rodolfo. One of the most recent is the 2008
Deutsche Grammophon
release conducted by
Bertrand de Billy
with
Anna Netrebko
and
Rolando Villazon
as Mimi and Rodolfo.
There are several recordings with conductors closely associated with Puccini. In the 1946 RCA Victor recording,
Arturo Toscanini
, who conducted the world premiere of the opera, conducts the NBC Symphony Orchestra with
Jan Peerce
as Rodolfo and
Licia Albanese
as Mimi. 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 boheme
in London,
[27]
conducted a performance of the opera in English released by Columbia Records in 1936 with
Lisa Perli
as Mimi and
Heddle Nash
as Rodolfo. Beecham also conducts on the 1956 RCA Victor recording with
Victoria de los Angeles
and
Jussi Bjorling
as Mimi and Rodolfo.
Although the vast majority of recordings are in the original Italian, the opera has been recorded in several other languages. These include: a recording in French conducted by Erasmo Ghiglia with
Renee Doria
and
Alain Vanzo
as Mimi and Rodolfo (1960);
[28]
a recording in German with Richard Kraus conducting the
Deutsche Oper Berlin
Orchestra and Chorus with
Trude Eipperle
and
Fritz Wunderlich
as Mimi and Rodolfo (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 Mimi and Rodolfo.
Enrico Caruso
, who was closely associated with the role of Rodolfo, recorded the famous aria "Che gelida manina" in 1906. This aria has been recorded by nearly 500 tenors in at least seven different languages between 1900 and 1980.
[29]
In 1981 the A.N.N.A. Record Company released a six
LP
set with 101 different tenors singing the aria.
The missing act
[
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]
In 1957 Illica's widow died and his papers were given to the Parma Museum. Among them was the full libretto to
La boheme
. It was then discovered that the librettists had prepared an act which Puccini decided not to use in his composition.
[30]
It is noteworthy for explaining Rodolfo's jealous remarks to Marcello in act 3.
The "missing act" is located in the timeline between the Cafe 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 Mimi a beautiful gown to wear and introduces her to a Viscount. 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.
Ruggero Leoncavallo
composed
an opera
based the same source material, also titled
La boheme
; this episode is included in Leoncavallo's treatment which premiered in 1897.
Derivative works
[
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]
In 1959 "
Musetta's Waltz
" was adapted by songwriter
Bobby Worth
for the pop song "
Don't You Know?
", a hit for
Della Reese
.
[31]
Earlier, it was used for another song, "One Night of Love".
[6]
In 1969 in Paris, American free-jazz pianist
Dave Burrell
recorded his
La Vie de Boheme
with a seven-piece group of European and American musicians. The music on the double-LP is improvised and experimental, but the listener can still discern Puccini's themes, as well as the narrative arc of the complete opera.
[32]
Rent
, a 1996 musical by
Jonathan Larson
, is based on
La boheme
. Here the lovers, Roger and Mimi, are faced with AIDS and progress through the action with songs such as "Light My Candle", which have direct reference to
La boheme
.
[33]
Many of the character names are retained or are similar (e.g. the character Angel is given the surname "Schunard"), and at another point in the play, Roger's roommate and best friend Mark makes a wry reference to "Musetta's Waltz", which is a recurring theme throughout the first act and is played at the end of the second act.
The opera was adapted into a 1983 short story by the novelist
V. S. Pritchett
for publication by the
Metropolitan Opera
Association.
Modernizations
[
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]
Stage design for act 1 of
La boheme
,
Reginald Gray
, 2010
Baz Luhrmann
produced the opera for
Opera Australia
in 1990
[35]
with modernized
supertitle
translations, and a budget of only
A$
60,000 (A$130,545.17 in 2022). A DVD was issued of the stage show. According to Luhrmann, this version was set in 1957 (rather than the original period of 1830) because "...[they] discovered that 1957 was a very, very accurate match for the social and economic realities of Paris in the 1840s."
[35]
In 2002, Luhrmann restaged his version on
Broadway
, the production won two
Tony Awards
out of six nominations; for Best Scenic Design and Best Lighting Design as well as a special award, the Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre. This rendition is notable for being the debut of
Joe Jonas
, who portrayed Oliver.
[36]
[37]
[38]
To play the eight performances per week on Broadway, three casts of Mimis and Rodolfos, and two Musettas and Marcellos, were used in rotation.
[39]
Robin Norton-Hale
directed a new production at the
Cock Tavern Theatre
, Kilburn, for
OperaUpClose
in December 2009.
[40]
[41]
For act 2 the entire audience and cast moved downstairs to the pub itself, with the pub's patrons serving as extras in the Cafe Momus scene. In 2010 the production was transferred to the West End's
Soho Theatre
and won a
Laurence Olivier Award
.
[42]
A 2019 production by Canada's Against the Grain Theatre featured a translated English libretto, and transposed the story to a contemporary Canadian urban setting.
[43]
This production toured several Canadian cities before its production at
Toronto
's Tranzac Club was livestreamed by
CBC Gem
on 13 October.
[43]
The CBC broadcast received two
Canadian Screen Award
nominations at the
9th Canadian Screen Awards
in 2021, for Best Performing Arts Program and Best Direction in a TV Movie.
[44]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Puccini called the divisions
quadri
,
tableaux
or "images", rather than
atti
(acts).
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"La Boheme"
.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
(Online). n.d.
- ^
"Opera Statistics on operabase.com"
. Operabase. Archived from
the original
on 5 September 2015
. Retrieved
18 May
2012
.
- ^
Gioia, Michael (5 February 2016).
"The Creation of Rent?How Jonathan Larson Transformed an Idea into a Groundbreaking Musical"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
6 February
2024
.
- ^
a
b
Kendell, Colin (2012).
The Complete Puccini: The Story of the World's Most Popular Operatic Composer
. Amberley Publishing.
ASIN
B0B2578RCL
.
- ^
Julian Budden
: "
La boheme
",
Grove Music Online
ed. L. Macy (Accessed 23 November 2008),
(subscription access)
Archived
16 May 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Bourne, Joyce (2010).
A Dictionary of Opera Characters
(Revised ed.). OUP Oxford. p. 255.
ISBN
978-0-19-955039-5
.
- ^
Atthill, Catherine (1979).
Phaidon book of the opera: a survey of 780 operas from 1597
. Phaidon. p. 314.
- ^
Wilson, Alexandra (2007).
The Puccini Problem
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 40
. Retrieved
12 October
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
Casaglia, Gherardo (2005).
"
La boheme
"
. L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia
(in Italian)
.
- ^
"La prima della Boheme a Parigi".
La Stampa
(in Italian). 14 June 1898. p. 2.
- ^
a
b
The Manchester Guardian
, 23 April 1897, p. 6
[
not specific enough to verify
]
- ^
Brown, Thomas Allston.
A History of the New York Stage, Vol. 3.
(Dodd, Mead and Company; New York; 1903), p. 359; and
"Musical and Dramatic. Puccini's
La boheme
Sung in Italian Last Night at Wallack's Theatre,"
The New York Times,
17 May 1898
- ^
"An Aria of Lincoln Center ? The Metropolitan Opera"
by Veronica Shine,
Opera Today
, 3 February 2012;
Met performances 1966
Archived
16 March 2022 at the
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- ^
Pascoa, Marcio: Cronologia Lirica de Belem, p. 145
- ^
Irvin 1985
, p.
[
page needed
]
.
- ^
"The Death of Giacomo Puccini"
. The British Newspaper Archive. 29 November 2012
. Retrieved
16 January
2015
.
- ^
Salzburg Festival
. Retrieved 28 October 2014
- ^
Britten, Benjamin. "Verdi ? A Symposium",
Opera
magazine, February 1951, pp. 113?114
- ^
Casaglia, Gherardo (2005).
"
La boheme
,
1 February 1896"
. L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia
(in Italian)
.
- ^
"La boheme, SC 67 (Puccini, Giacomo) ? IMSLP: Free Sheet Music PDF Download"
.
imslp.org
. Retrieved
16 October
2022
.
- ^
Operadis,
La boheme discography
- ^
Tommasini, Anthony
,
"Look What They're Doing to Opera"
,
The New York Times
, 22 December 2002
- ^
Details at Operadis
- ^
Shaman, William et al.,
More EJS: Discography of the Edward J. Smith recordings
, Issue 81 of
Discographies Series
, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999, pp. 455?56.
ISBN
0-313-29835-1
- ^
Kalmanoff, Martin (1984).
"The Missing Act"
. Archived from
the original
on 26 May 2012
. Retrieved
21 September
2009
.
- ^
Ginell, Cary (2008).
"Smart Licensing: Where Have I Heard That Before?"
. Music Reports Inc
. Retrieved
14 August
2008
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Burke, Brandon.
David Burrell:
La Vie de Boheme
at
AllMusic
. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ^
Anthony Tommasini
(17 March 1996).
"Theather [
sic
]; The Seven-Year Odyssey that Led to
Rent
"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
17 July
2008
.
- ^
a
b
Maggie Shiels (10 July 2002).
"Baz's Broadway opera"
.
BBC News
. Retrieved
15 August
2008
.
- ^
"Joe Jonas talks DNCE, 'Cake by the Ocean,' Miles Davis and Mariah Carey"
. 11 January 2017.
- ^
"Internet Broadway Database, IBDB"
. Internet Broadway Database
. Retrieved
27 December
2012
.
- ^
2002 production details at the IBDB database
- ^
Maggie Shiels (21 October 2002).
"Baz's brilliant
La Boheme
"
.
BBC News
. Retrieved
15 August
2008
.
- ^
Stephen Moss,
"OperaUpClose: Puccini in the pub"
,
The Guardian
(London), 3 December 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2012
- ^
Anna Picard,
"
La Boheme
, Cock Tavern Theatre, Kilburn, London: A tiny and youthful production of
La Boheme
has authenticity..."
Archived
24 September 2015 at the
Wayback Machine
,
The Independent
(London), 21 January 2012
- ^
Time Masters, "Puccini in a pub triumphs at Olivier Awards"
, on bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2012
- ^
a
b
"This reimagined version of La Boheme is set in a Toronto bar"
.
CBC Arts
, 2 October 2019.
- ^
Brent Furdyk,
"Television Nominees Announced For 2021 Canadian Screen Awards, 'Schitt's Creek' Leads The Pack With 21 Nominations"
Archived
1 April 2021 at the
Wayback Machine
.
ET Canada
, 30 March 2021.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Budden, Julian
(2002).
Puccini: His Life and Works
. Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-19-816468-5
.
- Groos, Arthur
;
Parker, Roger
, eds. (1986). "
La boheme
".
Cambridge Opera Handbooks
. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
0-521-26489-8
.
- Irvin, Eric
(1985).
Dictionary of the Australian Theatre 1788?1914
. Hale & Iremonger.
ISBN
978-0-86806-127-6
.
- Greenfield, Edward
; Layton, Robert (2009). March, Ivan; Czajkowski, Paul (eds.).
The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 2010
. Penguin.
ISBN
978-0-14-104162-9
.
- Melitz, Leo (1913).
The Opera Goer's Complete Guide
. Salinger, Richard (translator). New York: Dodd, Mead and Company.
- Pritchett, V. S.
(1983).
La boheme
. London:
Michael Joseph
.
ISBN
0-7181-2303-4
.
External links
[
edit
]
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