MET OPERA
LA BOHÈME OPERA BACKGROUND
PUCCINI
Tosca NOV 9 ENCORES DEC 7, 16
LIVE ON SCREEN IN MOVIE THEATRES
2013–14 Season VERDI
Falstaff DEC 14 ENCORES JAN 18, 20 FEB 5
DVORˇ ÁK
Rusalka
Puccini’s La Bohème was adapted from Henri Murger’s series of short stories, Scènes de la vie de bohème, depicting the life and times of bohemian artists, social rebels and radicals in Paris’s famed Latin Quarter. La Bohème premiered in 1896 in Turin, Italy. Through its subject matter of penniless artists living for their ideals, the work’s realism and heartfelt drama reverberated with the larger artistic concerns of the verismo tradition. Verismo was a literary movement in southern Italy beginning in the 1870s, characterized by gritty realism, a concern with poverty, the use of everyday rather than poetic language, quotes from popular songs of the day, and a tragic ending. At the time of its premiere, Italian audiences were unsure of how to react to the novelty of the story. Perhaps one reason for this sense of disorientation was that Puccini’s opera was staged at Turin’s Teatro Regio, a theatre that earlier in the season had featured the Italian premiere of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung, a work characterized by its comparative enormity and stratospherically different content. In contrast, La Bohème’s subject and style called out to a segment of the urban population and depicted a lower class far different from the privileged group that ordinarily attended the opera house. Mixed reactions notwithstanding, the opera quickly became a popular piece.
FEB 8 ENCORES MAR 29, 31
BORODIN
Prince Igor MAR 1 ENCORES APR 12, 14
MASSENET
Werther MAR 15 ENCORES MAY 24, 26
PUCCINI
The Industrial Revolution radically altered the day-to-day lives of Europeans. The growth of industry brought with it a rapidly expanding workforce and created a divide between the wealthy and the poor which led to the artistic reaction against self-indulgence. The premiere of La Bohème coincided with Labour movements in Italy in the mid-1890s, a period of social unrest. La Bohème’s democratic appeal and its acknowledgment of poverty and poor living conditions signalled changing times in both life and art.
La Bohème APR 5 ENCORES JUN 7, 9, 18
MOZART
Puccini’s music, along with Giuseppe Giacosa’s and Luigi Illica’s libretto, combined to create one of the most popular operas of all time, with enduring themes of young love set to incredibly powerful, beautiful music. A scene from the Canadian Opera Company/Houston Grand Opera (HGO)/San Francisco co-production of La Bohème, 2012, HGO. Photo: Felix Sanchez
Così Fan Tutte APR 26 ENCORES JUN 21, 23
Starring Paulo Szot
Visit Cineplex.com/Opera for tickets and participating theatres. ROSSINI MAY 10 ENCORES JUL 5, 7, 16
Canadian Opera Company 2013/2014 Season
The Nose OCT 26 ENCORE NOV 30
La Cenerentola
10
SHOSTAKOVICH
Encore performances are only available at select theatres. Performances may not be available at all participating theatres for all advertised dates. TM/®
Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline and Paul G. Desmarais Sr.
Cineplex Entertainment LP or used under license.