Fourth of Puccini’s dozen operas, La Bohéme was based upon Henri Murger’s 1849 novel Scènes de la vie Bohème. The opera’s title literally translates as "The Bohemian Woman," though here the reference is not to the homeland of Dvořák. Rather, "bohemian" can also be an adjective meaning a lifestyle of artistic and/or literary interests with priorities different from those of mainstream society. Had the term still been current in the 1960s, one might have done without the term "hippies." This story of starving young artists in the Left Bank neighborhood of Paris late in the 1800s is indeed a tale of bohemian life, and if the ladies in the tale also dabble in more prosperous lovers, it is made clear that they are not happy with those men, before long returning to the bohemian life.
Murger’s novel was far too lengthy to be converted complete into an opera, so particular scenes had to be chosen to make their way into the opera. Librettists Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa began converting the tale into a singable and stageable story, but soon found the composer to be a demanding and detail-oriented editor. Some lines Puccini rejected as "superfluous chattering." At other times, he insisted upon having a few more phrases, even just a few more syllables, inserted into the text for the purposes of transition, or so that an important word – such as "esperanza" (hope) in Rodolfo's first aria – would fall where he wanted the climax of the melody. The composer's tinkering so infuriated his librettists that on several occasions the team nearly disintegrated. Anguished, the librettists would write to publisher Giulio Ricordi about how many rewrites Puccini had demanded, wondering if they would ever be finished. Ricordi needed all of his diplomatic abilities to preserve the troubled partnership, in part by refusing to let Giacosa resign.
La Bohème's long awaited premiere came at Turin’s Teatro Regio February 1, 1896. Critics who had adored the composer’s Manon Lescaut but were apparently expecting something dark and dramatic were a bit put off by the sweetness of La Bohème’s story, and felt insufficiently compensated by the sad ending, but audiences were less skeptical. Puccini described the public reaction at Turin as "a splendid reception." The results so pleased the production team that the men Ricordi jokingly dubbed "The Holy Trinity" reunited to create two more equally beloved operas: Tosca in 1900 and Madama Butterfly in 1904. With the possible exception of Mozart/Ponte and their Figaro/Giovanni/Cosi set of operas, no composer/librettist team ever produced more consistently superior work, and even with monetary values adjusted for time, Puccini's team made far more money at it than did Mozart's.
Although the music of La Bohème is undeniably beautiful, still it is the characters to which the opera owes much of its extraordinary popularity, for here is a world inhabited not by clichés, but by believable human beings. Which of us cannot believe in these vibrant young people, laughing in the face of poverty, as their passions draw them together and drive them apart? Mimi and Rodolfo embody the idealistic side of love. Theirs is a rose-tinted romance that can conquer all things but death. Musetta and Marcello, by contrast, personify a more sharp-edged desire, more mature, perhaps, in its admission that love is not all hearts and flowers. Although we may not live the lives of these four lovers – and in some ways, it would be best not to do so – we all encounter them from time to time. For over a century, audiences have embraced this remarkable opera because its characters have within them the breath of life. Were they not so believable, they would not have served as inspiration for the musical Rent.
Whether one attends for the music or the characters or both, when well-cast and well-produced, La Bohème is that rarest of operas: one suitable as a first opera for a novice or a renewed love for an aficionado. Few works can reliably satisfy both sides of that equation, but La Bohème can. If one has never attended an opera before, begin here. If one has seen La Bohème a dozen times, see it once more. It brings rewards for all.
Notes by Betsy Schwarm
