About La Bohème
Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème stands as one of the opera world’s beloved masterpieces- a timeless story of love, friendship, and the pursuit of dreams. Set in a drafty attic in Paris, the opera introduces us to a circle of impoverished young artists who embrace life with passion and joy, yet also endure its hardships and sorrows. The poet Rodolphe discovers true love with the seamstress Mimì, while the painter Marcello navigates a tempestuous romance with the spirited Musetta.
With librettists Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, Puccini captured the very essence of what it means to be human in a vulnerable social class.
Musically, Puccini’s La Bohème is a consummate masterpiece. Lyricism alternates with drama, heightening the characters’ inner world of passionate emotions as the story unfolds. Much of the opera’s musical success likely stems from the fact that Puccini himself lived a bohemian life as a young man, and with remarkable sensitivity was able to clothe vulnerability, passion, and emotional turbulence in a rapturously sonorous musical fabric.
In the summer of 2026, this beloved opera will be performed in one of the world’s most extraordinary opera houses — a former sawmill on the shores of a vast lake, today celebrated internationally for its remarkable acoustics.
