La Bohème

Depending on how much work they have coming in, the penniless poet Rudolfo and his three skilled artist friends alternate between being strapped for cash and spending money like water.

Staatsoper Unter den Linden

When their neighbour Mimì turns up at their garret one day, Rodolfo falls in love with the fragile young woman at first sight. But Mimì is sick with consumption. Rodolfo, who can’t even offer her a warm room, is overwhelmed by the situation ...

In a loose sequence of scenes, Puccini and his librettists not only tell the story of the couple’s tragic romance, but also portray Paris’s bohemian subculture of wild parties and loose living. Through a libretto based on everyday language and a score that paints a detailed picture of a particular milieu, they created a new form of verist melodrama . Puccini’s vivid, onomatopoeic music depicts the world the bohemians inhabit with the same realism and minute detail with which it captures their inner lives.

approx. 2:25 hrs including 1 interval

Artists/Collaborators: Giacomo Puccini (Komponist/in), Giuseppe Giacosa und Luigi Illica (Autor/in)

Runtime: Fri, 15/12/2023 to Thu, 28/12/2023

ACT ONE

Christmas Eve in a garret in Paris

Rodolfo, a poet, and Marcello, a painter, are finding it difficult to work. It is cold in their garret. Rodolfo generously sacrifices his latest play to make a short-lived fire in the stove. Their friend Colline, a philosopher, joins them. He has just made a futile attempt to pawn his books on Christmas Eve. Schaunard, a musician, arrives shortly thereafter. To everyone’s surprise, he brings food, wine, wood, and money earned from an odd engagement: an eccentric Englishman had paid him to play a parrot to death. The money is still lying on the table when Benoît, the landlord, drops by unexpectedly to collect the overdue rent. The four artists get him drunk and manage to send him away empty-handed. They decide to spend Christmas Eve at Café Momus. Rodolfo remains behind in order to finish writing a newspaper article. There is a knock at the door: Mimì, a neighbor, asks for a light for her candle, which has gone out. She loses her key, which the two of them seek in the dark. Rodolfo makes sure that they do not find it too quickly. They draw closer to one another and fall in love. When Rodolfo’s friends call to him from below, the new couple goes with them to Café Momus.

ACT TWO

Café Momus

A lively Christmas crowd fills the Latin Quarter. Street vendors hawk their wares; children crowd around Parpignol, who sells toys. The four Bohemians spend their money; Rodolfo buys a bonnet for Mimì. Finally, the group meets for dinner at Café Momus, where Musetta, Marcello’s former mistress, also turns up with a new, wealthy admirer, Alcindoro. Marcello is jealous. Musetta provokes him and then sends Alcindoro away on an errand so that she can return to Marcello. The two couples, Colline, and Schaunard depart in high spirits. When Alcindoro returns, he will have to pay the bill for the entire party.

ACT THREE

A February morning on the outskirts of the city

Marcello is working as a »bar painter« in a tavern on the outskirts of the city, where Musetta performs as a singer. Mimì wants to speak to him about Rodolfo’s unfounded jealousy. Marcello advises her to leave him. When Rodolfo arrives, Mimì hides and overhears the real reason for Rodolfo’s behavior: he feels unable to provide for Mimì, who is seriously ill. Mimì emerges from her hiding place. She and Rodolfo now decide to stay together until the end of the winter. After a scene of violent jealousy, Musetta leaves Marcello.

ACT FOUR

In the garret, six months later

Marcello and Rodolfo are unable to work. Although neither wants to admit it to the other, their thoughts are with Musetta and Mimì, whom they have not seen for a long time. This time Colline and Schaunard arrive with just a meager dinner. The four friends attempt to make the best of the situation by making jokes. Musetta arrives with Mimì, who is dying and wants to see Rodolfo one more time. Musetta pawns her earrings and Colline his beloved coat so that they can buy medicine, obtain a doctor, and fulfill a last wish for the dying girl. Left alone, Rodolfo and Mimì reminisce about their first meeting. The friends return, and Mimì dies. Rodolfo is the last to realize it.

Next date: La Boheme

• Date Friday, 15/December/2023 11:00 (7 more dates)
• Venue Staatsoper Unter den Linden
• Address Unter den Linden 7, 10117 Berlin-Mitte