List of Characters

 

 

Rodolfo - a poet

 

Marcello - a painter

 

Schaunard - a musician

 

Colline - a philosopher

 

 

Mimì - a seamstress

 

Musetta - Marcello's former girlfriend

Alcindoro - Musetta's wealthy protector

 

Synopsis

 

Act I 

 

La Bohème's opening scene is of a small, impoverished apartment in 1830s Paris on Christmas Eve.  Rodolfo, a poet, and Marcello, a painter, are trying to keep warm by feeding the stove with pages from Rodolfo's latest drama.  They are soon joined by their roommates -  Schaunard, a musician, and Colline, a philosopher - who bring food, fuel, and funds from Schaunard's last job. These 'Bohemians' want to celebrate their good fortune so decide to go out to a café... all except Rodolfo, who wants to finish writing his latest article before joining them. Not long after the men leave their downstairs neighbor, Mimì, knocks on the door.  Her candle has blown out and she asks Rodolfo for a light so she can return to her own apartment. As she enters the room she suddenly feels faint and Rodolfo helps her before lighting her candle.  She is about to leave but realizes that she must have dropped her key during her dizzy spell.  Rodolfo once again helps her search.  As they search their hands touch and they instantly fall in love.

Act 2
 

Meanwhile, buoyed by the unexpected influx of funds, Rodolfo’s friends have gathered at the café to watch the people passing by and to enjoy a good meal. Rodolfo brings Mimì to the party to introduce her to his friends. Soon after this introduction, Marcello’s former girlfriend, Musetta, arrives on the arm of the elderly, but wealthy, Alcindoro. Musetta torments Alcindoro to attract Marcello’s attention, finally sending the older man away by pretending her foot hurts and demanding a new pair of shoes. While the old man is gone, Musetta falls into Marcello’s arms and charges the Bohemians’ meal to Alcindoro’s account, much to the amusement of the crowd at the cafe. The friends leave together.

Act 3

 

The third act's opening scene takes place in February. As the winter becomes colder, Mimì seeks out Marcello. She wants his advice about Rodolfo, whose unreasonable jealousy is ruining their life together. Marcello tries to comfort her. When Rodolfo arrives, Mimì hides and Marcello questions him about Mimì. Rodolfo begins by accusing Mimì of being a flirt, but then confesses his real reason for trying to drive her off. Mimì’s illness is growing worse and Rodolfo has no money to provide for her. Overhearing this, Mimì approaches Rodolfo and bids him good-bye. As they are saying good-bye, Marcello runs back to the tavern upon hearing Musetta’s laughter. While Mimì and Rodolfo recall past happiness, Marcello returns with Musetta, quarreling about her flirting with a customer. They hurl insults at each other and decide to break up; however, Mimì and Rodolfo realize they cannot bear to part yet and pledge to stay together until the spring.

Act 4

 

Months later in their apartment, Rodolfo writes and Marcello paints, but their thoughts keep straying to their absent sweethearts. Schaunard and Colline try to cheer the others up with a cheap supper. To lighten their spirits the four stage a dance, which turns into a mock duel. At the height of the hilarity Musetta bursts in with news that Mimì is outside, too weak to come upstairs. As Rodolfo runs to her side, Musetta relates how Mimì begged to be taken to Rodolfo to die. In a last bid to help her, Musetta gives her earrings to Marcello to pay for a doctor and Colline decides to pawn his coat to help the girl. Rodolfo stays by Mimì’s side, trying to cheer her by recalling their first meeting on the night that her candle blew out, but she is seized with a violent coughing fit. The Bohemians return with their gifts, but Mimì's condition worsens. She drifts in and out of consciousness while Rodolfo holds her in his arms. Moments pass before he realizes that Mimi is no longer breathing. In his grief, he lays over her lifeless body while calling out her name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What was Mimì's illness? 

 

One of the strongest thematic currents in La Bohème is Mimì’s illness. It is such a strong force in the opera that it nearly becomes another character, motivating the action from beginning to end. It is the force moving underneath her first encounter with Rodolfo, and colors their relationship from the first moment they meet, through their poverty-plagued life together, to her death at the end of the opera. What is this illness that haunts this love story? In 19th-century literature, it was commonly referred to as consumption, The White Plague of Europe, or the wasting disease. Today we know it as tuberculosis or TB.

 

Tuberculosis has been around for a very long time. It is a bacterium that has existed on earth for about 7,000 years and infects many different types of mammals, including cattle, birds, fish, and even small reptiles. There is no answer to the question of how the bacterium first got started, but some researchers believe that it might have started as a micro-organism that once grew in the soil. It shows up in archeological evidence from the North American continent and from the Asian continent from about 2,000 B.C.E. Ancient Greek records claim that tuberculosis was the worst of all diseases known at the time. It made its debut appearance on the European mainland about 2,500 – 1,500 B.C. and arrived in Britain about 1,000 years after that. In the Dark Ages, and early Middle Ages, it spread and grew in strength. It was known as the "King's Evil," and it was believed that only a miracle brought about by the King’s laying on of hands could cure a sick person.

 

In 19th century Europe, consumption, as it was known at the time, ran rampant throughout society and one out of every four people living in Europe died of the disease.  Even in the United States, the death rate was very high, with New York City one of the worst affected cities in the world.

 

Some people actually thought that TB was an inherited trait that showed up in people of creative talent, and that the sicker you were, the more talented you were. Or, in the reverse, the more creative you were the sicker you would get, and that the fevers and fatigue of the illness helped people make better art. It was, in a word, glamorized and made almost fashionable. The spectre of TB is a constant presence in 19th century art. It shows up in operas other than La Bohème, including Verdi's La Traviata, and in plays, poetry, novels and paintings. In reality it was a wasting disease with no known cure, and the suffering was anything but glamorous. Sufferers were often isolated and prevented from working in certain types of jobs, or even from getting married. The symptoms of TB include immense tiredness, weight loss, fever, night sweats, chest pain, and persistent coughing that bring up blood. At the time, it almost always proved fatal.

 

Treatment of the disease in the 19th century was done by guess-work. Some physicians recommended rest and relaxation, some recommended fresh air and exercise, or even salt air for their patients. Infected people were often isolated in "sanatoriums." These were facilities that were set apart from crowded areas, like cities, and promoted exercise, fresh air, and rest for their patients. In 1882, Dr. Robert Koch, a German physician, was finally able to isolate the bacterium. For the first time, the cause of consumption was understood as a contagious disease that was spread through air contaminated by the coughing of an infected person. This discovery was the first step towards an effective treatment and vaccination.

 

It was not until the middle of the twentieth century, however, that major progress was made towards a cure, which was developed in the 1940's. Of course, the best treatment is prevention. Currently, doctors are trying to encourage prevention prior to development of active TB, which includes good nutrition, rest, exercise, periodic testing, and avoiding close and continued contact with a person who is sick with TB. Coming into contact with a person who has TB does not necessarily mean that you will also get sick - our bodies fight off germs every day. In fact, only a quarter of the people who are exposed to TB actually become infected, and only a small portion of those people actually get sick.

 

 

 

 

Where Did This Opera Come From?

 

The music for La Bohème was written in 1896 by Giacomo Puccini, a composer during the Romantic Period and considered one of the greatest opera composers of all time.  He based his opera on the novel Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger, which was written 48 years before the opera.  By the time Puccini began work on La Bohème , Scènes de la vie de bohème also existed as a play.

 

The development of the opera was rife with jealousy and argument.  According to historical recountings, Puccini's friend and fellow composer, Leoncavallo, is said to have offered Puccini his own scenario for an opera based on Scènes de la vie de bohème.  Puccini supposedly turned down this offer...only to begin working on his own opera based on the same novel.  A few months later the two friends nearly came to blows in a café when Puccini mentioned his work on the project.  Leoncavallo felt that Puccini should defer to him since it was his idea, while Puccini responded that he had had no idea of Leoncavallo's interest and felt that he could not oblige him by discontinuing with the opera. The two parted, leaving their friendship behind, to work on their own versions of the story.  While Leoncavallo did complete his own version, it was not very successful and is now rarely performed, whereas Puccini's version is considered by many as the greatest opera of all time. 

 

 

 

 

This Plot Sound Kind of Familiar...

 

The 1996 rock-opera RENT is loosely based on Puccini's opera La Bohème.  The composer and writer of RENT, Jonathan Larson, wished to update the setting and story of the classic opera to modern day, in order to tell a story of the tragedies of bohemian existence in America.  While many plot details and themes are changed, RENT and La Bohème possess many connecting similarities, such as

 

 

- Both are set in cities that are considered as havens for artists (New York and Paris)

 

- Both describe the devastation of a disease that is afflicting people during the respective time periods (Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS)

 

- Both have character names that are similar or identical (Musetta/Maureen, Mimi/Mimì, Rudolfo/Roger, Marcello/Mark)

 

- Both center around a group of 'bohemians' that have similar type jobs (painter/film maker, singer/performing artist,

  philosopher/philosophy teacher)

 

- Both contain the 'candle' scene where Rudolfo/Roger and Mimì/Mimi first meet and instantly fall in love

 

 

 

 

 

Opera is very similar to musical theater - they both use acting, scenery, costumes, singers, and an orchestra/instrumalists.  However, most Operas have sung dialogue and use classical music; whereas most musical theater productions have spoken dialogue and use more contemporary/pop style music.  The other main difference is that Opera is usually in a language other than English.  This is because many of the Operas around today were written by composers from different countries a long time ago.  This, of course, means that when the Operas were originally performed, they were actually in the language of the people in the audience (just like today's musicals).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Activity 1 - Opera is more than a fat lady singing

 

Opera singers do more than just singing - they have to 'act' their parts as well.  Just like actors on tv or in movies, opera singers must discover, create and imagine the background, personality, and physical qualitities of their character.  While some clues are provided in the story, music, and costumes, other information is not.

 

Before we watch an excerpt from the opera, please complete the La Bohème Character Creation Worksheet (see below).

 

 

 

 

Now that you have created a character backstory, please watch the following video excerpt(s) and see how your ideas match up to the characters in the opera.  Note: The video below is the full opera with English sub-titles.  Please choose specific scenes to match students' chosen characters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Activity 2 - The 'Candle' Scene

 

One of the scenes that is similiar between La Bohème and RENT is the 'candle' scene, where Rudolfo/Roger and Mimì/Mimi first meet and instantly fall in love.  Read the lyrics of both, then watch the scenes.  Think of all the ways the scenes/music/acting are the same as well as how these are different.  Be prepared to discuss your thoughts in class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

La Bohème                                                                                                    RENT