New Orleans Opera Association - La boheme 2022 Program

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WELCOME

TABLE OF CONTENTS Board of Directors & Advisory Board

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Summary & Synopsis

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Orchestra & Chorus

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Cast and Creative Team

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La bohème Title Page

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Development

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Thank You!

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Staff Listing

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Bohemians of 19th Century Paris

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Sustainer Program

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Season Announcement

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This program is produced for the New Orleans Opera Association by : Renaissance Publishing, LLC 110 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Ste. 123 Metairie, LA 70005 (504) 828-1380 | myneworleans.com New Orleans Opera Association 2504 Prytania Street New Orleans, LA 70130 (504) 529-2278 | Fax (504) 529-7668 neworleansopera.org Executive Editor Janet Wilson Editor Topher Danial

Dear Friends, On behalf of everyone at New Orleans Opera, welcome to the closing production of our 2021-22 season, and our first full opera onstage since the start of the pandemic!

It is such a joy to bring you Puccini’s masterpiece about the power of love, as this production is truly a labor of love for our company. We welcome a cast of international opera stars to join our talented local chorus, orchestra, artisans, and staff in a brand-new production of La bohème. Whether this is your first time experiencing this opera, or you’ve known this great work for decades, it never fails to tug at our heartstrings and move us with its story.

Puccini’s storytelling via the glorious sound of the unamplified human voice reminds us that art and love are not small things — they have the power to transform our world.

Great opera lives on only through performance, and performances can only happen if there is an audience. We are delighted to have you with us today, and we also invite you back next year for another season of operas in New Orleans.

Thank you so much for being here.

Clare Burovac, NOOA General and Artistic Director

Art Director Ali Sullivan Senior Account Executive Brooke Genusa

Dwayne O. Littauer, NOOA Board President

Production Manager Rosa Balaguer Arostegui Production Designer Meghan Rooney Chief Executive Officer Todd Matherne Copyright 2022 New Orleans Opera Association and Renaissance Publishing, LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. © New Orleans Opera Association

La bohème | NewOrleansOpera.org

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NOOA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mr. Dwayne O. Littauer President Ms. Sonya Moore Vice President Mrs. Mary Chapman Albert Mr. Ron Austin Dr. Nicolas Bazan Mrs. Adelaide Wisdom Benjamin Mr. Peter Brigandi Mrs. Betty Brooks Mr. Joseph Bruno Ms. Luretta Bybee Mr. Vance Ceaser Mr. A. J. Capritto Mrs. Serafina Charbonnet Mr. Edgar L. “Dooky” Chase III

Mrs. Pauline Hardin Secretary Mr. Emmet Geary, Jr. Treasurer

Ms. Penny Baumer Development Chair Mr. James C. Gulotta, Jr. Immediate Past President

Mr. Arthur A. Crais Jr. Dr. Patrick J. Dowling Mrs. Diane S. Dupin Mr. Tim Fields Mr. Bruce A. Gordon Ms. Adrea Heebe Mrs. Rania Khodr Mrs. Elizabeth Mahorner Landis Mrs. Christine LeBlanc Mr. Edward F. Martin Mr. Jonathan C. McCall Dr. R. Ranney Mize

Ms. Ann Owens Prof. Cynthia Samuel Mr. Leopold Z. Sher Mr. Alfred E. Stacey IV Mrs. Harry C. (Claire) Stahel Mr. Philip Straub Ms. Catherine Burns Tremaine Dr. Rand Voorhies Ms. Debby Hirsch Wood Mr. Joseph Young

NOOA ADVISORY BOARD Mrs. Virgene Biggers Mrs. Margie Breeden Ms. Elizabeth “Liz” Glaser Broekman Ms. Michelle Butler Dr. Mark Caldwell Mrs. Eileen Capritto Mrs. Kathy Christian Hon. Jacquelyn B. Clarkson Ms. Joan Coulter Dr. R.W. Culver Mr. Georges Daou Mrs. Thomas S. Davidson Mrs. Monique R. Gougisha Doucette Mrs. Betsy Dowling Mr. Brooke Duncan

Dr. Charles Dupin Ms. Marlene Duronslet Mr. Elroy W. Eckhardt Mrs. Melissa Mason Gordon Ms. Amanda Green Mr. Douglas Grundmeyer Mr. Timothy Hemphill Ms. Melissa Hess Mr. Neuville Hotstream Hon. Bernette J. Johnson Ms. Givonna Joseph Mrs. Rose LeBreton Ms. Lisa Leone Mr. Frank Maselli Mrs. Gail McKenna

Dr. Jane Cagan Miller Mrs. Cindy Mistrot Mr. Brian Monk Mrs. Pat Murrell Mr. Ernest L. O’Bannon Dr. Andrew Orestano Prof. Amy Pfrimmer Ms. Ashley Pradel Dr. Byron Scott Dr. Alan E. Sheen Mrs. Sonda Stacey Ms. Rebecca Thomson Dr. Peter M. Tufton Dr. Aysen Young

THANK YOU! New Orleans Opera Association would like to thank all the generous donors who made this season possible.

La bohème | NewOrleansOpera.org

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SUMMARY & SYNOPSIS

Summary

On a cold Christmas Eve in 1840s Paris, four Bohemians — a poet, a painter, a musician, and a philosopher — are visited by a young woman, Mimi, looking for candlelight. The poet Rodolfo falls in love with Mimi.

Soon, it becomes clear that Mimi is suffering from a consuming sickness. Over the winter, Rodolfo confronts the harsh reality of trying to take care of Mimi in his impoverished state. The relationship fractures and frays until the two part ways in the spring.

When Rodolfo is next reunited with Mimi, she has been wandering the streets of Paris, sick and alone.

Rodolfo waits by Mimi’s side while their friends sell what they can to buy medicine. While alone, the two confess their love for one another before Mimi succumbs to a fit of coughing that leads to her passing.

Rodolfo is left weeping and heartbroken.

Synopsis ACT I On Christmas Eve four bohemians — a poet, a painter, a philosopher, and a musician — stay warm by burning the pages of Rodolfo’s poems. Schanuard, the musician, has received payment for his last commission, prompting the group to celebrate. When the landlord, Benoit, demands rent payment, the group gets him drunk instead.

In a celebratory state, the group heads out to the cafe.

Rodolfo stays behind. Once alone, Rodolfo is visited by Mimi, a young woman who has come in search of candlelight as hers has gone out, leaving her in the dark. Rodolfo is instantly taken with Mimi and the two leave together for the cafe.

ACT II In the Latin Quarter, Mimi and Rodolfo catch up with the group at Cafe Momus. Marcello, the painter, spots Musetta, his one-time lover. She has taken up with a wealthy admirer, Alcindoro, but has grown bored of the relationship. She sings a risque tune in order to win back Marcello. After ordering Alcindoro away, she falls into Marcello’s arms. When the bill arrives, Musetta confidently declares that Alcindoro will pay the bill before the group hurriedly flees the scene.

MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS: Che gelida manina (Rodolfo) Mi chiamano Mimi (Mimi) O soave fanciulla (Rodolfo/Mimi)

MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS: Aranci Datteri (Marcello/Schaunard/ Rodolfo/Mimi) Quando m'en vo (Musetta)

Continued on page 8...

La bohème | NewOrleansOpera.org

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SUMMARY & SYNOPSIS

Synopsis (continued) ACT III Some time has now passed. Mimi finds Marcello outside a tavern where she reveals the jealous and unkind behavior Rodolfo has been exhibiting for months. She believes it best for them to part. When Rodolfo emerges from the tavern, Mimi hides. He tells Marcello that Mimi’s illness can only grow worse with the impoverished conditions in which they live.

Overcome with emotion, Mimi reveals herself to say goodbye to Rodolfo. Marcello hears Musetta’s laughter from the tavern and disappears inside. Mimi and Rodolfo recount the good times. Marcello returns with Musetta where they fight over Musetta’s flirtations with a customer. After hurling insults at one another, they part. Mimi and Rodolfo decide to stay together until springtime.

ACT IV Spring has come and gone. Rodolfo and Marcello, now separated from their girlfriends, discuss their loneliness. To lighten spirits, Shanuard and the philosopher Colline provide a small meal, before the four friends stage a dance that morphs into a light-hearted duel. Musetta interrupts the revelry when she bursts through the door with the news that Mimi is outside, too weak to climb the stairs. As Rodolfo rushes away, Musetta reveals how Mimi wanted to be brought to Rodolfo’s side to die. To afford medicine for Mimi, Musetta has Marcello sell her earrings while Colline pawns his heavy overcoat. Alone in the apartment, Rodolfo and Mimi recount their happy memories, before Mimi succumbs to a coughing fit. After the others return, Mimi slowly drifts off. Musetta prays for Mimi but it is too late. The friends realize that Mimi is dead as Rodolfo weeps by her side.

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New Orleans Opera Association

MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS: Marcello. Finalmente!

(Rodolfo/Marcello) Donde lieta uscì (Mimi)

MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS: In un coupé? (Marcello/Rodolfo) O Mimì, tu più non torni (Rodolfo/ Marcello/Schaunard/Colline) Vecchia zimarra, senti (Colline) Sono andati? Fingevo di dormire (Mimì/Rodolfo)

CHORUS & ORCHESTRA

Orchestra & Chorus

Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

CHORUS

Carol Rausch, Chorus Master & Music Administrator

William Alber Margaret Branyon-Goodman Julie Condy Claudia Copeland Carolyn Deyo Alan Gandolfi Frederick George Olivia Gilbert Brigid Higgins David Hinton Richard Hofler Fionn Hunter-Green Thomas Lin William Lopez Amanda McCarthy Justin Missakian Valencia Pleasant Samantha Resser Michael Robillard

Hillary Smith Guy Tem Mark-Anthony Thomas Vickie R. Thomas Julia Tuneberg

CHILDREN'S CHORUS Lola Bolivar Sasha Daley Kate Garcia Ellie Gereighty Lila Giusti Isabelle Higgins Rad Jennings Adelaide Leflet Brett Massimi Sophia Parigi Lam Phan Malia Suggs

La bohème | NewOrleansOpera.org

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LA BOHÈME CAST & CREATIVE TEAM

Yongzhao Yu, Rodolfo

Vanessa Isiguen, Mimì

Recently: • Rodolfo, La bohème, Arizona Opera • Duke di Mantova, Rigoletto, Seattle Opera • Alfredo (first cover), La traviata, The Metropolitan Opera

Recently: • Cio-Cio-san, Madama Butterfly Florida Grand Opera • Roberta Alden, An American Tragedy, Glimmerglass Opera • Spirit, The Sorrows of Frederick, The Metropolitan Opera • Mimì, La bohème, Portland Opera • Soloist, Insights Concert Madama Butterfly, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, UK • Cio-Cio-san, Madama Butterfly, Eugene Opera

Upcoming: • Rodolfo (first cover), La bohème, The Metropolitan Opera • Duke di Mantova (first cover), Rigoletto, The Metropolitan Opera • Pinkerton, Madama Butterfly, Houston Grand Opera www.l2artists.com/yongzhao-yu

Upcoming: • Nila, Tres Minutos, Music of Remembrance Seattle and San Francisco (world premiere) www.vanessaisiguen.com

Zachary Nelson, Marcello

Kearstin Piper Brown, Musetta

Recently: • Title Role, Sweeney Todd, Des Moines Metro Opera • Marcello, La bohème, Lyric Opera of Chicago • Escamillo, Carmen, Palm Beach Opera • Escamillo, Carmen, New Orleans Opera

Recently: • Esther, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater • Guest Soloist, Gala Holiday Pops, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra • Soprano Soloist, Ballad of the Brown King, Syracuse Opera • Bess, Porgy and Bess, New Orleans Opera

Upcoming: • Marcello, La bohème, Jacksonville Symphony • Alberich, Das Rheingold, Atlanta Opera www.zacharynelsonbaritone.com

Upcoming: • Guest Soloist, New York Festival of Song, Merkin Hall • Guest Soloist, Gateways Music Festival, Schomburg Center • Leah, Southern Crossings, Gerald Lynch Theater

Christian Zaremba, Colline

Spencer Reichman, Schaunard

Recently: • Lesbos, Agrippina, Metropolitan Opera • Figaro, Le Nozze di Figaro, Austin Opera • Sarastro, Die Zauberflöte, Theatre du Capitole, Toulouse

Recently: • Sprecher, Magic Flute, Pensacola Opera • Monterone, Rigoletto, Shreveport Opera • Dick Deadeye, HMS Pinafore, Pensacola Opera

www.kearstinpiperbrown.com

Upcoming: • Sprecher/Sarastro, Die Zauberflöte, Opera de Montreal • Leporello, Don Giovanni, Berkshires Opera Festival • Sparafucile, Rigoletto, Opera Colorado

Upcoming: • Gianni Schicchi, Gianni Schicchi, Loyola Opera Theatre • Elder 4/Administrator, Sky on Swings, Opera Saratoga • Sweeney Todd (cover), Sweeney Todd, Opera Saratoga

www.christianzaremba.com

www.spencerreichman.com

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New Orleans Opera Association

Ivan Griffin, Benoit/Alcindoro

Kameron Lopreore, Parpignol

Recently: • Don Basilio, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Opera Louisiane • Soloist, Celebration of Women's History Month, OperaCréole • Soloist, Messiah, Symphony Chorus of New Orleans

Recently: • Tamino, The Magic Flute, The Glimmerglass Festival • Panatellas, Songbird, The Glimmerglass Festival • Hoffmann, The Tales of Hoffmann, Opera Louisiane

Upcoming: • Luther/Crespel, Les Contes d'Hoffman, Opera Louisiane • Recital, Songs of a People, Louisiana Tech University

Upcoming: • Soloist, Rossini Stabat Mater, St. Charles Ave. Presbyterian Church • Apprentice artist, Santa Fe Opera

www.ivangriffinsings.com

Fenlon Lamb, Director Recently (as Director): • Elixir of Love, Palm Beach Opera • Lucia di Lammermoor, Madison Opera • Mozart & Salieri, Opera San Jose Upcoming: • Director, Barber of Seville, Amarillo Opera • Producer, Hansel & Gretel, Papermoon Opera Productions • Director, La Cenerentola, Kentucky Opera www.fenlonlamb.com

Joseph Colaneri, Conductor, Jerry W. Zachary and Henry Bernstein Maestro Chair Recently (as Conductor): • La bohème, Seattle Opera • The Magic Flute, The Glimmerglass Festival • The Ghosts of Versailles, L’Opéra Royal de Versailles • Mefistofele, The Metropolitan Opera Upcoming (as Conductor): • Carmen, The Glimmerglass Festival • Tenor Overboard, The Glimmerglass Festival www.josephcolaneri.com

Steven C. Kemp, Scenic Designer

Don Darnutzer, Lighting Designer

Recently (as Scenic Designer): • The Daughter of the Regiment, Sarasota Opera • Rigoletto, Central City Opera • Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Lyric Opera of Kansas City

Recently: • Lighting and Projection Designer, A Streetcar Named Desire, Florida Grand Opera • Lighting Designer, What I Learn In Paris, South Coast Repertory • Lighting and Projection Designer, Dead Man Walking, Israeli Opera

Upcoming (as Scenic Designer): • West Side Story, Opera San Jose • Quamino's Map, Chicago Opera Theater • The Dangerous Liaisons, Curtis Institute of Music www.stevenckemp.com

Upcoming: • Lighting Designer, Barber of Seville, New Orleans Opera www.linkedin.com/in/don-darnutzer-21a30673/

La bohème | NewOrleansOpera.org

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me è h o b La

s ’ i n i cc u P Composer

Giacomo Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924)

Librettist

Creative Team

Scenic Designer, Steven C. Kemp Costume Designer, Howard Tsvi Kaplan Lighting Designer, Don Darnutzer

Luigi Illica (May 9, 1857 – December 16, 1919) and Giuseppe Giacosa (October 21, 1847 – September 1, 1906), based on Scènes de la vie de bohème (1851) by Henri Murger (March 27, 1822 – January 28, 1861).

Wig & Makeup Designer, Danyale Cook

Director

Costumer, Danielle Domingue Sumi

Fenlon Lamb

Conductor

Joseph Colaneri, Jerry W. Zachary and Henry Bernstein Maestro Chair

Chorus Master & Music Administrator, Carol Rausch Production Manager, Sarah McCall Technical Director, Keith Christopher Stage Manager, Brett Finley 1st Assistant Stage Manager, Kate Bartels 2nd Assistant Stage Manager, Elise Bourg Stage Management Intern, Hang Vu

Cast

Assistant Lighting Designer, Mandi Wood

Rodolfo, Yongzhao Yu

Props Coordinator, Olivia Winter

Mimi, Vanessa Isiguen

Scenic Painter, Nathan Arthur

Marcello, Zachary Nelson

Wardrobe Lead, Lesly Davi

Musetta, Kearstin Piper Brown

Sewing Lead, Stephanie Kuhn

Colline, Christian Zaremba

Rehearsal Pianist, Elena Lacheva

Schaunard, Spencer Reichman

Supertitles, Celeste Montemarano

Benoit/Alcindoro, Ivan Griffin

Supertitles Prompter, Beth Rota

Parpignol, Kameron Lopreore Custom-House Officer, Fionn Hunter-Green Sergeant, David Hinton Boy soloist, Act II, Rad Jennings Prune seller, Thomas Lin With The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

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New Orleans Opera Association

Supernumeraries Dorian Bennett Karen Milanese Kristen van Meerveld Jan Lapre Carla Pittari Josh Marron

La bohème is generously sponsored, in part, by Lexus of New Orleans.

The role of Mimi is generously sponsored by Louise H. Moffett Family Foundation Conductors for New Orleans Opera are generously sponsored by the Jerry W. Zachary and Henry Bernstein Fund for the New Orleans Opera Association.

Student Night Out Dress Rehearsals are made possible with generous support from The Louise Baehr Martin Memorial Fund.

Costumes provided by Sarasota Opera Association, Inc.

La bohème | NewOrleansOpera.org

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DEVELOPMENT

YOUR SUPPORT MAKES EVERYTHING POSSIBLE!

When you donate to New Orleans Opera, you join the cast and crew as an essential partner in bringing great art to life. Your contribution helps sustain the long tradition of opera in New Orleans and ensures its future growth in the years ahead. Please consider making a gift today in support of our productions and programs or, more specifically, the principal artists, choristers, designers, artisans, stagehands and others who all collaborate to bring this shared and magical experience of live performances to the stage.

There are many ways to get involved: through Leadership giving, as Mastersigners, or as individual supporters. You can make a one-time donation of any amount or become a founding Opera Sustainer (a monthly donor of $10 or more). There are additional opportunities for support including foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, and planned giving.

Contact the Development Office today at 504-267-9526 or nooagiving@neworleansopera.org.

You can also visit our website: neworleansopera.org and click “Donate” or send a check to New Orleans Opera Association; P.O. Box 52108; New Orleans, LA 70152.

THANK YOU!!

Your support helps with programs like our recent Masterclass for the winners of the 2021 Donald W. Wood, Sr. Vocal Competition. Photographed here are some of the winners with Douglas Sumi, Master Teacher, Vocal Coach, and Voice Chair at Boston University.

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New Orleans Opera Association

THANK YOU!

INSTITUTIONAL UNDERWRITERS THANK YOU! New Orleans Opera Association thanks our business, foundation and government partners for their recent support!

New Orleans Opera works with each business and community partner to create a sponsorship package that suits your company’s particular needs. Whether you seek opportunities to entertain your clients, corporate visibility at performances, marketing partnerships, or all of the above, New Orleans Opera can assist you. Your sponsorship supports the Opera while providing exclusive benefits and visibility for your company.

$100,000+

$5,000+

Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation Louisiana Economic Development New Orleans Opera Endowment Fund

An Anonymous Foundation in support of Opera on Tap-New Orleans Carol B. and Kenneth J. Boudreaux Foundation Goldring Family Foundation and Woldenberg Foundation Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities National Endowment for the Arts National Endowment for the Humanities New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation Wm. B. Reily & Company, Inc. Luzianne Tea and French Market Coffee WWOZ

$50,000+ The Theresa Bittenbring Marque & John Henry Marque Fund Edward F. and Louise B. Martin Family Fund

$20,000+ Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Grand Opera Foundation Louisiana State Arts Council/ Louisiana Division of the Arts New Orleans Theater Association The Selley Foundation Fund

$10,000+ Bloomberg Philanthropies City of New Orleans/ACNO Entergy Charitable Foundation Erik F. Johnsen Family Foundation Greater New Orleans Foundation V. Price LeBlanc Jr. Fund Lexus of New Orleans McCall Fund Louise H. Moffett Family Foundation Wisdom-Benjamin Foundation

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New Orleans Opera Association

$1,000+ The Edgar “Dooky” Jr. and Leah Chase Family Foundation City of New Orleans Mayor’s Office of Cultural Economy Community Works of Louisiana Josef Sternberg Memorial Fund Peoples Health Renaissance Publishing Van der Linden Family Foundation WWNO

We gratefully acknowledge matching and in-kind(*) gifts from the following institutions: Applied Materials Foundation Booth Bricker Fund Encore* ExxonMobil Foundation Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Foundation Martin Wine Cellar* MDRG (Market Dynamics Research Group, Inc.)* Merck Foundation Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans (MaCCNO)* New Orleans Museum of Art* New Orleans Musicians’ Assistance Foundation (NOMAF)* New Orleans Jazz Market* Shell Oil Company Foundation Stephanie Varns, CPA* Windsor Court Hotel*

STAFF

NOOA

IATSE STAFF

Staff

IATSE Local #39

Clare Burovac, General & Artistic Director

Keith Christopher, President

Gina Klein, Director of Operations

Alan Arthur, Business Manager Mandi Wood, Lighting Designer

Artistic & Production Keith Christopher, Technical Director Sarah McCall, Director of Production Carol Rausch, Chorus Master / Music Administrator Development Joanna Sternberg, Director of Development Megan Franich, Major Gifts Officer Courtney Randall, Development Operations & Special Events Coordinator Community Partnerships & Education Tara Melvin, Director of Community Partnerships & Education Marketing, Communications & Audience Experience Janet Wilson, Director of External Affairs Devin Johnson, Patron Services Manager Dylan Trân, ` Marketing Coordinator Jenny Chapman, Support Group Liaison Robert Lyall, General Director Emeritus

Amber Wolf, Head Props Neil Ingles, Head Electrics Keith Tujague, Head Carpenter Michael Delacerda, Head Sound IATSE Local #840 Theatrical Wardrobe Union Shannon Muhleisen, President Lesly Davi, Secretary / Treasurer Bonnie Haase, Business Agent Lesly Davi, Wardrobe Lead Stephanie Kuhn, Sewing Lead

H. LLOYD HAWKINS

SCENIC STUDIO Keith Christopher, Technical Director Olivia Winter, Props Coordinator Keith Tujague, Carpenter Nathan Arthur, Painter

New Orleans Opera is supported in part by a Community Arts Grant made possible by the City of New Orleans and administered by the Arts Council of New Orleans; by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council; and a grant from the New Orleans Theatre Association (NOTA).

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New Orleans Opera Association

La bohème | NewOrleansOpera.org

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BOHEMIANS OF 19TH CENTURY PARIS

Bohemians of 19th Century Paris

by Amrita Vijayaraghavan and Andrew Stephens The term “Bohemian” originates with a Celtic tribe, the Boii, that settled in eastern Europe in what is now the modern-day Czech Republic in the early ADs. Later on, the French used the term as a pejorative to describe the non-traditional lifestyle of the Romani, also known as Gypsies, who came from the same region. In the 19th century, its use was extended to describe Parisians moving into low-rent, workingclass neighborhoods traditionally reserved for the Romani.

The Bohemian lifestyle and ethic began to fascinate the broader French public when, in 1849, Henri Muger’s collection of stories, Scènes de la vie de bohème, was made into a popular play, and later a sensationally selling novel.

Muger’s work, from which Puccini’s opera borrows the main characters — Rodolfo, Mimì, Schaunard, Marcello, Colline, Musetta, et al — was one of the first portrayals of the bohemian lifestyle in Paris. Its stories romanticized and celebrated the French Bohemian.

These figures were often artists, musicians, radicals, writers, and philosophers who eschewed the comfort of traditional bourgeois society and, instead, expressed their anti-establishment viewpoints by embracing free love and frugality with like-minded individuals, while maintaining few permanent ties.

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New Orleans Opera Association

Parisian Bohemians of the 1840s inhabited a city that had yet to be revitalized by Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s latter-19th century public projects that created the wide boulevards, public parks, central market, and grand opera house that we know today. Instead, the city was a warren of small, dark streets that dated back to the Middle Ages.

France was a liberal constitutional monarchy at this time, which lasted from the July Revolution of 1830 to the French Revolution of 1848. This was a moment in time when idealism was replaced by materialism. Heroic figures whose portrayals previously dominated arts and culture were replaced by common people with everyday problems; far-away lands were traded in for depictions of more realistic cityscapes.

Muger’s stories represent this shift and provide a perfect complement to Puccini’s sensibilities as a composer in the verismo operatic tradition. This genre of opera, popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, placed emphasis on realism, telling stories of the common man as opposed to those of gods, mythical figures, and the aristocracy.

In La bohème, we are invited into a world that bleeds with the issues of its day and sings with some of the most sublimely romantic music in the classical opera canon.

La bohème | NewOrleansOpera.org

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BECOME A FOUNDING SUSTAINER

COMING SOON:

A FUN, NEW PARTY THAT MAY OR MAY NOT INVOLVE MUSICAL CHAIRS!

More information in your inboxes very soon. Sign up for our newsletters at www.neworleansopera.org.

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New Orleans Opera Association

SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT

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New Orleans Opera Association