La Bohéme (Smith_A1)

Kamryn Smith

Art 211

Professor Roundtree

February 13^th, 2018

La Bohéme

In 1895, a composer named Giacomo Puccini and two Italian librettos named Luigi Illica and Giuseppa Giascosa created one of the most popular and beloved operas of all time, named La Bohéme. La Bohéme is based on the novel Scénes de la vie de bohéme written by Henri Murger. The opera focuses on the tragic love story set during the 1830’s in Paris between a young artist named Rodolfo and his beautiful neighbor, Mimi. The opera is separated into four separate acts, following the novel almost exactly. Since this opera was created over a century ago, one would expect that the opera would be unappealing to a present-day audience, but the opera continues to grow nationally.

On February 1^st, 1895, La Bohéme was performed for the first time at the Teatro Regio. I believe that in 1895 the actors were able to portray the story as successfully, or if not, better, than the opera is performed today. According to (“La Bohéme: 19th Century ‘Reality Opera.’”), “La Bohéme was like a reality opera, “because the story focused more on the typical and average person. During this time, writers and composers were beginning to transition their operas away from being focused around rulers, gods, and royalty. Instead, they started to organize story lines around characters that the audience could relate to easier, and in turn, operas grew in popularity since 1895. There have been films and other adaptations of La Bohéme to tell its story. Therefore, La Bohéme built a large following due to the passing of time and the forever “reality opera” title it holds amongst Broadway shows. (“La Bohéme: 19th Century ‘Reality Opera.”)

I believe that this piece is important in the chronology of operas because this opera helped create another show, named Rent. According to, “The France of Victor Hugo,” “The 1996 Broadway rock musical Rent by Jonathan Larson is a modern expression of the Bohemian ideal. The musical is based extensively on Puccini's La Bohéme incorporating musical themes, plot twists, and even lyrics of the opera. “Although Rent is a Broadway show that focuses on AIDS and the struggle to survive economically through paying “rent,” the story line and characters nearly follow hand and hand. The character Mimi in La Bohéme suffers from illness, and the character Mimi in Rent suffers from AIDS. La Bohéme’s music and story influences Johnathan Larson in the creation of Rent. Johnathan Larson produced a Broadway show that not only appreciates the work created in La Bohéme, but also incorporates more relevant issues in relation to present day society. The way that Johnathan Larson was able to integrate scenes and characters from La Bohéme is remarkable because it truly demonstrates the “reality opera,” La Bohéme was meant to be. (“La Bohème vs. Rent: Role Comparison.”)

Technology is incorporated in La Bohéme through the use of the changing sets. The opera is set in numerous locations, including the busy streets of Paris, a busy restaurant, and an old house in the suburbs of France. Changing from one scene to the next requires multiple screened backgrounds and costume changes. In this opera, the most important production features are the powerful voices used and orchestra. All of the costume changes and set changes are simply the background in comparison to the music being played and sung.

The “mise en scene” in the Broadway show can be seen most immensely in Act Three. In Act Three, the scene is set in the suburbs of Paris during a winter snow storm. The scenery is beautifully illustrated through the use of falling snow, dim lighting, and warm, winter clothing on the two lovers, Mimi and Rodolfo. This particular scene is so important to the opera because up until this point, Mimi and Rodolfo have continuously fallen more in love with one another, facing no heartaches. However, at this time, Mimi appears with a terrible cold, confessing her terrible but heart racing love to Rodolfo’s close friend named Marcello. Mimi is very upset and confesses that Rodolfo is becoming almost impossible to be with due to his outrageous jealousy. For Rodolfo, his jealously is an excuse to not see the love of his life die. Rodolfo confesses his true feelings to Marcello, but ultimately, the scene becomes more intense once Mimi and Rodolfo meet face to face. The scene concludes through a powerful, yet compassionate conversation between the two lovers, and they agree to stay together. This scene represents the true meaning of the “mise en scene” because this one scene illustrates not only the whole purpose of the opera, but the true meaning of love. (“La Bohéme: 19th Century ‘Reality Opera.’”)

If I were a twenty-first century director, I would turn La Bohéme into a video game by creating four separate acts, just like the opera. In each act, there would be the ability to become one of the characters and design them accordingly. You would also be able to sing the different musical pieces. I would also incorporate the opera, Rent into the video game. In Act One of the game, you would have two rooms, one staged from Rent and the other staged from La Bohéme. In this section of the game, you would have a multiple-choice question to answer that related to different locations of the songs sung. In Act Two, you would be able to perform a karaoke version of a song. In Act Three, you would have a matching faces game. Finally, in Act Four, you would become Mimi and go on a search through Paris to reach Rodolfo. Although this game would have many different sections and levels, the game would be available in beginner levels to the most experienced.

Overall, I believe this opera will continue to be appreciated over time, and the music will continue to influence musicians and future opera singers to come. Rent is my favorite Broadway show, so to have seen how similar the two shows are helped give me a better understanding of how the show was created. La Bohéme will forever be phenomenal and will face greater success for years to come.

Works Cited

“The France of Victor Hugo.” Rent, www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255/bohem/trent.html.

“La Bohème vs. Rent: Role Comparison.” Hawaii Opera Theatre, 4 Nov. 2016, www.hawaiiopera.org/news-events/la-boheme-vs-rent-role-comparison/#sthash.63rC7JC4.dpbs.

Scott, Bruce. “La Bohéme: 19th Century ‘Reality Opera.’” NPR Music, 11 Sept. 2011, www.npr.org/2011/09/30/140929024/la-boheme-19th-century-reality-opera.

“Synopsis: La Bohème.” La Bohème Synopsis, The Metropolitan Opera, www.metopera.org/user-information/La-Boheme/.