La boheme (Puccini)
La bohème (in Spanish, La bohemia) is an opera in four acts with music by Giacomo Puccini and an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, who simplified and combined the different episodes of the serialized novel Scenes from Bohemian Life, by Henri Murger, published over five years (1845-1849) in the newspaper El Corsair. It reflects the composer's experiences during the years he lived as a student at the Milan Conservatory, where he shared a room with Pietro Mascagni.
The premiere of La bohème took place at the Teatro Regio in Turin on February 1, 1896, directed by Arturo Toscanini. The work had a cold reception, both from the public and from critics; but for many years, La bohème has been one of the most outstanding operas in the standard operatic repertoire and appears, in recent statistics (2005-2010), as the fourth most performed in the world. In 1946, fifty years after its premiere, Toscanini himself once again conducted a performance, this time with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, a version that was later published on record and compact disc and is the only recording of an opera by Puccini ever made. by its original director (see Recordings, below).
Origin story
According to its cover, the libretto for La bohème is based on the novel Scènes de la vie de bohème, by Henri Murger, a collection of vignettes portraying young bohemians living in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the 1840s. Although it is commonly called a novel, it does not have a unified plot. Like the 1849 play by Murger and Théodore Barrière, the opera's libretto focuses on the relationship between Rodolfo and Mimi, ending with their death, and melds two characters from the novel, Mimi and Francine, into a single character, Mimi.
Much of the script is original. The main plots of Acts II and III are the librettists' invention, with only a few passing references to Murger's incidents and characters. Most of acts I and IV are similar to what happened in the novel, and episodes from several chapters are unified. The final scenes of Acts I and IV—the scenes between Rodolfo and Mimi—appear in both the play and the novel. The story of their meeting closely follows chapter 18 of the novel, in which the two lovers who live in an attic are not Rodolfo and Mimi at all, but Jacques and Francine. The story of Mimi's death in the opera arises from two different chapters in the novel, one dealing with Francine's death and the other with Mimi's.
The published script includes a note from the writers in which they briefly defend their adaptation. Without mentioning the play directly, they allude to the fusion of Francine and Mimí into a single character: "Chi puo non confondere nel delicato profilo di una sola donna quelli di Mimì e di Francine?" ("Who could not detect in the delicate profile of a woman the personality of both Mimì and Francine?"). At the time, Murger having died without heirs, the novel was in the public domain, but the rights to the play were still controlled by the Barrière heirs.
History of performances
Initial success
The world premiere of La bohème took place on February 1, 1896 at the Teatro Regio in Turin and was directed by the young Arturo Toscanini. The opera quickly became popular throughout Italy, and productions were soon mounted by the following companies: the Teatro di San Carlos in Naples (March 14, 1896, with Elisa Petri as Musetta and Antonio Magini-Coletti as Marcello); Bologna's Teatro Comunale (November 4, 1896, with Amelia Sedelmayer as Musetta and Umberto Beduschi as Rodolfo); the Teatro Costanzi (November 17, 1896, with Maria Stuarda Savelli as Mimi, Enrico Giannini-Grifoni as Rodolfo, and Maurizio Bensaude as Marcello); La Scala (March 15, 1897, with Angelica Pandolfini as Mimí, Camilla Pasini as Musetta, Fernando De Lucia as Rodolfo, and Edoardo Camera as Marcello); La Fenice (December 26, 1897, with Emilia Merolla as Mimi, Maria Martelli as Musetta, Giovanni Apostolu and Franco Mannucci as Rodolfo, and Ferruccio Corradetti as Marcello); Teatro Regio de Parma (January 29, 1898, with Solomiya Krushelnytska as Mimi, Lina Cassandro as Musetta, Pietro Ferrari as Rodolfo, and Pietro Giacomello as Marcello); and the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo (August 21, 1898, with Emilia Corsi as Mimi, Annita Barone as Musetta, Giovanni Apostolu as Rodolfo, and Giovanni Roussel as Marcello).
The first performance of La bohème outside Italy was at the Buenos Aires Opera House, today called Teatro Ópera, Argentina, on June 16, 1896. The opera premiered in Alexandria, Lisbon and Moscow in early 1897. The British premiere took place at the Teatro Real in Manchester on 22 April 1897, in a performance by the Carl Rosa opera company supervised by Puccini. This performance was given in English and it starred Alice Esty as Mimi, Bessie McDonald as Musetta, Robert Cunningham as Rodolfo, and William Paull as Marcello. On October 2, 1897, the same company gave the first performance of the opera at the Royal Opera House in London, and on October 14, 1897 October 1897 in Los Angeles, for the premiere in the United States. On May 16, 1898, it was performed at the Palmo Opera House with Giuseppe Agostini as Rodolfo. The first production of the opera actually produced by the Royal Opera House opened on 1 July 1899 with Nellie Melba as Mimi, Zélie de Lussan as Musetta, Fernando De Lucia as Rodolfo, and Mario Ancona as Marcello.
La bohème had its German premiere at the Kroll Opera House in Berlin on June 22, 1897. The French premiere of the opera took place at the Opéra-Comique on June 13, 1898, at the Theater des Nations. The production used a French translation by Paul Ferrier and starred Julia Guiraudon as Mimi, Jeanne Tiphaine as Musetta, Adolphe Maréchal as Rodolfo, and Lucien Fugère as Marcello.
20th century
La bohème continued to gain international popularity in the early XX century and only the Opéra- Comique had already presented the opera a hundred times in 1903. The Belgian premiere took place at the La Moneda theater on October 25, 1900 using Ferrier's French translation with Marie Thiérry as Mimi, Léon David as Rodolfo, Eugène-Charles Badiali as Marcello, sets by Pierre Devis, Armand Lynen, and Albert Dubosq, and Philippe Flon directing. The New York Metropolitan Opera performed the work for the first time on December 26, 1900 with Nellie Melba as Mimi, Annita Occhiolini-Rizzini as Musetta, Albert Saléza as Rodolfo, Giuseppe Campanari as Marcello, and Luigi Mancinelli acting as conductor.
The opera was presented for the first time in Brazil at the Teatro Amazonas in Manaus on July 2, 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)
- Monaco: February 1, 1902, Opera of Monte Carlo in Monte Carlo with Nellie Melba as Mimi, Enrico Caruso as Rodolfo, Alexis Boyer as Marcello, and Léon Jehin in the direction.
- Prato: December 25, 1902, Regio Teatro Metastasio with Ulderica Persichini as Mimi, Norma Sella as Musetta, Ariodante Quarti as Rodolfo, and Amleto Pollastri as Marcello.
- Catania: July 9, 1903, Politeama Pacini with Isabella Costa Orbellini as Mimi, Lina Gismondi as Musetta, Elvino Ventura as Rodolfo, and Alfredo Costa as Marcello.
- Austria: 25 November 1903, Vienna State Opera in Vienna with Selma Kurz as Mimi, Marie Gutheil-Schoder as Musetta, Fritz Schrödter as Rodolfo and Gerhard Stehmann as Marcello, under the direction of Gustav Mahler.
- Sweden: May 19, 1905, Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, presented by the Royal Opera of Sweden with Maria Labia as Mimi.
Characters
| Character | Tesitura | Elenco del premiero, February 1, 1896 (Director: Arturo Toscanini) |
|---|---|---|
| Mimi (Lucia), modist | soprano | Cesira Ferrani |
| Rodolfo, poet | tenor | Evan Gorga |
| Marcello, painter | Baritone | Tieste Wilmant |
| Musetta, singer | soprano | Camilla Pasini |
| Colline, philosopher | Low | Michele Mazzara |
| Schaunard, musician | Baritone | Antonio Pini-Corsi |
| Benoît, land | Low | Alessandro Polonini |
| Alcindoro, State Counsel | Low | Alessandro Polonini |
| Parpignol, toy seller | tenor | Dante Zucchi |
| A customs sergeant | Low | Felice Fogli (Yes) |
| Students, workers, citizens, dependants, street vendors, soldiers, waiters, children | ||
Plot
The story is set in Paris in the period around the year 1830, in which a group of young artists share a house in the Latin Quarter, and with it their friendship, illusions and love.
It essentially focuses on the love between the dressmaker named Mimi and the poet Rodolfo. They fall in love as soon as they meet, but Rodolfo later wants to leave Mimi because of her flirtatious behavior. However, Mimi is deathly ill and Rodolfo feels guilty, since their life together has worsened his health even more. They bond again for a brief moment before she dies.
Act I
In the attic of the four bohemians
In the attic of the bohemians. Marcello paints while Rodolfo looks out the window. Since they don't have fuel and it's cold, they use the manuscripts of the drama that Rodolfo is writing to make a fire. Colline, the philosopher, enters the room frozen and upset at not having been able to pawn some books. Schaunard, the musician, arrives with food, wood, wine, and money; he explains to his companions the source of his sudden riches, a job with an eccentric English gentleman. No one pays attention as they fall on the food, which is promptly removed by Schaunard, declaring that they will all celebrate their good luck by dining at Cafe Momus instead. While they are drinking, Benoît, the landlord, arrives looking for the rent payment. The bohemians cajole him by offering him wine, and, amid the effect of the alcohol, he narrates his love affairs, adding that he is also married, to which everyone reacts with a timid, feigned indignation, and throws him out of the room without paying the rent.. They decide that the best thing is to use that money to go on a party in the Latin Quarter.
The other bohemians leave, but Rodolfo is left alone for a moment to finish an article he is writing, promising to meet up with his friends soon. At that moment someone knocks on the door, and Mimi, a dressmaker who lives in another room of the building, enters. She has come to ask for help to light her candle again, which she has blown out. She goes out, but returns right away because she has forgotten her key. At that moment, both lights go out and in the dark they must search for the key. Rodolfo, eager to spend time with Mimi, finds the key and puts it in her pocket, feigning innocence. When their hands stumble, they both take the opportunity to tell the story of their lives: he interprets Che gelida manina / "What a cold little hand" and she, Sì, my chiamano Mimi / "Yes, they call me Mimi". They are interrupted by the voices of impatient friends who have come looking for Rodolfo, but while he suggests staying at home with Mimi, she decides to accompany him. As they leave, they sing of their new-found love (duet: O soave fanciulla / "Oh, sweet girl").
Act II
In the Latin Quarter of Paris
On the streets there is a large crowd, along with children, having fun while the street vendors shout their wares (chorus: Aranci, datteri! Caldi i marroni! / "Oranges, dates! Hot chestnuts!"). Friends appear, buoyed with joy; Rodolfo buys Mimi a pink hat. Parisians gossip with their friends and haggle with vendors; street children clamor to see the wares of Parpignol the toymaker. The friends enter Cafe Momus.
While the men and Mimi are eating and drinking at the café, Musetta, Marcello's ex, appears, accompanied by her wealthy (and aging) admirer, the government minister, Alcindoro, whom she treats like a lapdog. It becomes clear that she has had enough of him. She tries in various ways to get Marcello's attention, and she succeeds by singing a sensual aria dedicated to her new lover, which delights the Parisians and embarrasses her patron (Musetta's waltz: Quando m' en vò / "When I go"). Soon Marcello burns with jealousy. To get rid of Alcindoro for a bit, Musetta feigns pain in one foot, because of the shoe that is too tight, and makes Alcindoro go get him a new pair. During the confusion that follows, Musetta takes the opportunity to meet with her lover Marcello de ella and they reconcile.
When the Bohemians decide to pay the bill to march, they find that Schaunard does not have enough money and, following Musetta's suggestion, they decide to charge the bill to Alcindoro. Soldiers parade in the street, and taking advantage of the confusion, Marcello and Colline take Mussetta in their arms and flee, to the complicit laughter of the spectators. When everyone has left, Alcindoro arrives with the pair of shoes looking for Musetta. The waiter hands him the bill and, horrified by the amount, Alcindoro sinks into a chair.
Act III
At the Enfer Customs
Street vendors pass the barrier and enter the city. Among them is Mimi, coughing violently. She tries to find Marcello, who lives in a small tavern nearby where he paints ads for the bartender. She tells him how difficult life has become for her with Rodolfo, who has left the house the night before (aria: O buon Marcello, aiuto! / & # 34; Oh, good Marcello, Help! & # 34;). Marcello tells him that Rodolfo is sleeping in the tavern where he also lives. Rodolfo, who has just woken up and is looking for Marcello, enters the scene. Mimi quickly hides and hears Rodolfo first telling Marcello that he has abandoned Mimi because she is too flirtatious with other men, but then he confesses that he is afraid that she is slowly wasting away from a deadly disease (most likely tuberculosis, known by the wildcard word "consumption" in the 19th century). Rodolfo, in his poverty, can do little to help Mimi and he decided to pretend not to love her anymore so that she forgets about him and goes to live with another man who can provide her with a more comfortable way of life (Mimí e so much malata! / "Mimi is so sick!"). Marcello, worried about Mimi, tries to silence her, but she has already heard everything and discovers herself when she coughs violently. Marcello leaves them to return to Musetta. Rodolfo and Mimi sing to their lost love. They plan to part amicably (Mimí: Donde lieta usci / "Where I left happy"), but their love for each other is too strong. They reach a compromise: they decide to stay together until the season of flowers arrives, spring, when the world comes alive again and no one feels truly alone. Meanwhile, Marcello has bonded with Musetta, and in the distance their fierce argument can be heard: an opposite counterpoint to the other couple's reconciliation (quartet of Mimi, Rodolfo, Musetta, Marcello: Addio dolce svegliare alla mattina! / "Goodbye, sweet morning awakenings!").
Act IV
In the attic again
Marcello and Rodolfo seem to be working, although they are mainly mourning the loss of their respective loved ones (duet: ¡O Mimì!, Tu più non torni! / "Oh Mimí, you will not return!"). Schaunard and Colline enter with a very frugal dinner, consisting of some bread and a herring, and the four of them parody a delicious banquet, singing and dancing (Gavotte!). Musetta enters alarmed with news: Mimi, who accepted a viscount after leaving Rodolfo in the spring, has left her protector. Musetta has found her wandering the streets, much weakened by her illness, and has brought her with him to the attic. Everyone helps the girl, haggard and pale, to sit on a chair. Concerned, Musetta and Marcello leave the room to sell her jewelry to buy some medicine, and Colline goes out to pawn his coat (Vecchia zimarra, senti / "Old coat, listen" 3. 4;). Schaunard, urged on by Colline, quietly leaves to give Mimì and Rodolfo time together. Alone, Rodolfo and Mimí, remember their happy times (Mimí and Rodolfo duet: Sono andati? / "Have they gone?"). They remember their first meeting—the candles, the lost key—and, to Mimi's delight, Rodolfo gives her the little pink hat that he bought for her and that he has kept as a memento of her love. They all return, with a muff as a gift to warm Mimi's hands and some medicine. They tell Rodolfo that they have called the doctor. They prostrate themselves at the foot of the bed, Musetta says a prayer, and Mimi is inadvertently knocked unconscious. While Musetta prays, Mimi dies. Schaunard discovers Mimi lifeless. Rodolfo realizes this and yells Mimí...! Mimi...! distraught, and he cries without being able to contain himself.
Instrumentation
The score for La bohème requires:
- Wind: 2 Flauts, flute, 2 oboes, aglais cor, 2 clarinets in and if bemol, low clarinet in and if bemol, 2 fagotes
- Metal: 4 horns in Fa, 3 trumpets in Fa, 3 trombones, bass trombone
- Percussion: timbal, drum, triangle, cymbal, pump, xylophone, glockenspiel, bells
- String: harp, violins I, II, viola, cello, bass.
Discography
- See Annex:Discography of La Bohème
The Missing Act
In 1957 Illica's widow died and her papers were handed over to the Parma Museum. Among them was the complete libretto for La bohème. It was discovered that the librettists had prepared an act that Puccini decided not to use in his composition, he is notable for explaining Rodolfo's jealous remarks to Marcello in Act III.
The "missing act" It is set in the timeline between the scene at Cafe Momus and Act III and describes an outdoor party in Musetta's rooms. His protector has refused to pay the rent due to his jealous feelings, and Musetta's furniture is moved to the courtyard to be auctioned off the next morning. The four bohemians find in this an excuse to celebrate a party and they prepare wine and an orchestra. Musetta gives Mimi a beautiful outfit to wear and presents her to a viscount. The couple dance a quadrille in the patio, which makes Rodolfo jealous. This explains why in Act III he mentions the "moscardino di Viscontino" (that viscount fop). As morning approaches, the furniture dealers take away the 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 Della Reese hit. The opera was also adapted into a short story in 1983 by novelist V. S. Pritchett for publication by the Metropolitan Opera Association.
La Boheme. 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, Milan 2009, ISBN 978-88-86178-89 -1.
Modernizations
Baz Luhrmann produced the opera for Opera Australia in 1990 with modernized subtitled translations and a budget of just A$60,000. A DVD featuring the stage performance was released. This version was set in 1957, rather than the original period of 1830. The reason for updating La bohème to this time, according to Baz Luhrmann, was that "... (they) they found that 1957 fit very well with the social and economic realities of Paris in the 1840s". In 2002, Luhrmann staged this version again on Broadway, winning a Tony Award. For performing all eight weekly performances on Broadway, three casts of Mimís and Rodolfos were used, and two of Musettas and Marcellos, rotating.
The Broadway musical Rent (1996) by Jonathan Larson, is based on La bohème. Here the lovers, Roger and Mimi, confront AIDS and the action progresses with songs like "Light My Candle", which make a direct reference to La bohème. Many of the character names are the same or similar (for example, the character Angel is nicknamed "Schunard"), and at another point in the play, Roger's roommate and best friend Mark makes a reference ironic to the "Musetta waltz" (Mark announces that Roger will introduce a new song, but after hearing the first few chords he says "...don't let it look like the Musetta waltz"), which is a recurring theme throughout the first act and is plays throughout the second act.
Another adaptation is the film Boheemielämää (La vie de bohème) by Aki Kaurismäki released in 1992.
In the tango Griseta (lyrics by José González Castillo, music by Enrique Pedro Delfino, 1924) the first stanza refers to the characters from the opera: A rare mix of Musetta and Mimí /with caresses by Rodolfo and by Schaunard,