Music by Giacomo Puccini

CARPE DIEM

Based on Henri Murger’s 1851 novel Scenes de la vie de Bohème, Puccini’s fourth opera is one of the world’s most popular and marked his true coming of age as a composer, and the end of his days as a starving artist.

With themes so universal that it has successfully moved generations—from its polarizing 1896 premiere in Turin, conducted by the 28-year-old Arturo Toscanini, to inspiring the smash musical Rent on Broadway a century later—La Bohème is part of popular culture.

This story of struggling bohemian artists and their friends, including Mimi and Rodolfo, in Left Bank Paris celebrates the joy, excitement, and carefree abandon of youth, as they dare to live their lives and emotions to the fullest. But even such passion cannot keep tragedy at bay.

Artistic Staff
Conductor
Daniela Candillari

Director
Michael Shell

Set Designer
Mark F. Smith

Costume Designer
Sarah Bahr

Lighting Designer
Driscoll Otto

Chorus Master
Walter Huff