La storyline
Thankfully, La Bohème has a fairly easy storyline for opera newbies to follow. In the first of four acts we meet the eponymous bohemians, Marcello the painter and Rodolfo the poet, burning pages from Rodolfo’s last drama to keep warm. Friends arrive, along with the landlord. The bohemians get him drunk and boastful of his past romantic conquests, before throwing him out in mock indignation. They soon retire to Café Momus, while Rodolfo stays behind to finish up some work, but he meets his neighbour, Mimi, on the stairwell. Her candle has gone out and, being a bit of an opportunist, he gives her some wine. Staggering, she loses her key. During the ensuing search, his candle goes out leaving the feted lovers alone to tell each other stories in the moonlight.
Rodolfo introduces Mimi to his friends at the beginning of act two, and we join them at Café Momus to get to know them better. Marcello’s ostentatious ex (Musetta) arrives on the arm of the elderly Alcindoro and tries her best to catch the painter’s eye. She sends Alcindoro off on an errand and immediately falls into Marcello’s arms. When a group of soldiers pass by, the bohemians run off to join the celebration. Alcindoro returns to find they’ve left him the bill.
Act three begins in the early morning snow, outside Paris, where farm girls are being ushered into the city by a customs officer. Mimi is seeking out the residence of the reunited Marcello and Musetta. She finds them in a tavern and tells Marcello of her misery. Rodolfo, it transpires, has become a jealous drunk, and Marcello advises her to leave him. Meanwhile, we overhear said jealous drunk stirring in the tavern, and Mimi runs to hide. Thinking her gone, the two men discuss Rodolfo’s misery. He breaks down, telling Marcello of Mimi’s failing health and the impending doom she faces if they stay together in poverty. Unsurprisingly, Mimi overhears them and is overcome. Meanwhile, Musetta begins laughing in the background and Marcello heads off to argue with her. They part in fury, while Mimi and Marcello recall happier times and decide to give their relationship until spring.
The final act finds the men trying to escape their misery, dancing and mock-fighting with friends. Musetta arrives to say that Mimi is too weak to climb the stairs, but wishes to be with Rodolfo so that she can die. The friends begin pawning possessions for medicine funds, but it’s too late. She is seized with a coughing fit and dies later of consumption (tuberculosis). Rodolfo is beside himself with grief, bringing the whole thing to a rather miserable finale.
La other bits and bobs
La Bohème was composed between 1892 and 1896, based on the Henri Murger novel Scènes de la Vie de Bohème (1851), though Puccini mixed in experiences of his own. The opening scene, in which Rodolfo burns his manuscripts in the winter cold, made reference to Puccini’s salad days in Milan when he’d burn possessions for warmth.
Murger’s novel also inspired Ruggero Leoncavallo’s La Bohème, brought to the stage a year after Puccini’s (1897). For the first 10 years, it was viewed as the more popular of the two operas, but eventually dropped from public affection.
Puccini’s first choice conductor was Arturo Toscanini, who led the orchestra at the premiere in Turin on Feb 1, 1896. He returned to conduct a radio performance of the piece with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in 1946, which is now available on CD.
According to Opera America, La Bohème is the second most performed opera in history, falling behind another Puccini classic, Madame Butterfly.
Giac the lad
Puccini’s father Michele was also a composer, but he died when his son was only five. His uncle, Fortunato Magi, recognised no musical ability in young Giacomo whatsoever, noting that he had ‘neither the ear nor the calling of a musician’. He’d have done well as an X-Factor judge, then.
In his late teens, Giacomo walked 40km to attend a performance of Verdi’s Aïda. The experience marked out his destiny, and presumably prompted a hasty visit to Shoe Mart, Pisa branch.
Pavarotti took Puccini’s ‘Nessun Dorma’ to number two on the UK singles charts in 1990, but countless other warblers have had a bash, including a grizzly assault by Aretha ‘Queen of Soul’ Franklin. Our favourite version is the metal styling by Manowar, accompanied by the sound of Puccini spinning in his grave.
Madame Butterfly came at the height of Puccini’s success (1904) but was laughed offstage on opening night. The composer was forced to rework the opera, at which point it was heralded a success. There will be no reworking of La Bohème at Emirates Palace. What you see is what you get. Laughing will not be tolerated.
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