Opéra de Monte-Carlo | Giacomo Puccini's La bohème

Grimaldi Forum

10 Av. Princesse Grace, 98000 Monaco

Opera in four tableaux
Music by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica after Henry Murger's Scènes de la vie de bohème (1849)
Premiere: Turin, Teatro Regio, February 1, 1896

Puccini Centenary Festival

Coproduction with the Royal Opera of Muscat, Oman

When Giacomo Puccini turned to Giacosa and Illica, who had already collaborated fruitfully with him on the libretto of Manon Lescaut, he had to struggle to transform the Scènes de la vie de bohème by French poet Henry Murger (1822-1861) into a convincing lyric drama. To make matters worse, when the opera was finally completed and premiered in Turin in 1896, it received unfavorable reviews, despite Arturo Toscanini's superlative direction.

Yet the four brief acts of La bohème appear so well balanced: their ideal blend of lightness, exuberance, lyricism, sincere sentiment and heart-rending sadness is simply confounding. The orchestral writing is colorful, always relevant, and the sung parts move fluidly between very natural conversations and some of the most memorable arias in operatic history. These performances of La bohème feature a prestigious cast, led by Anna Netrebko in the role of Mimì.

Performance dates

• Friday November 8 at 8pm

• Sunday November 10 at 3pm

• Wednesday November 13 at 8pm

Project managers

Musical Direction | Marco Armiliato

Stage direction | Jean-Louis Grinda

Sets | Rudy Sabounghi

Video | Julien Soulier

Costumes | David Belugou

Lighting | Laurent Castaingt

Choir director | Stefano Visconti

Assistant director Vanessa d'Ayral de Sérignac

Vocal Director | Kira Parfeevets

Cast

Choir of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo

Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo

Children's choir of the Academie Rainier III