In fact, Mimi knows she has tuberculosis and will soon die. As for Marcello the painter and his saucy mistress Musetta, who are used to bickering, they form a contrasting couple full of humour, compared to the more melodramatic pair of Mimi and Rodolfo, who eventually break up because they no longer get along. The two fall in love at first sight and tell their friends about their love on Christmas Eve. A group of penniless students count on the joys of life for a little relief from their daily misery, as eating, keeping warm and paying the rent are a luxury! With her tenderness, the seamstress Mimi offers a little warmth and light to the poet Rodolfo. The listener is caught in the wheels of this mechanism and then moved to tears by a drama based on real life and emotions. As for the orchestra, it proceeds with tiny brushstrokes and atmospheres and, in a language where the arias fit together with marvellous fluidity, sweeps the audience off its feet.

The vibrancy and lyrical quality of Puccini’s work is combined with an acute sense of climax and an indulgent passion for beautiful voices.

The end result is two hours of melodrama including some of the most beautiful and popular scenes of the Italian repertoire. The basis is a pleasant novel by Henry Murger. A tone, a rhythm, delightful repartee, voluptuous arias, an orchestra that sparkles and caresses the voices: these are a few of the brilliant devices employed with creativity and extraordinary precision by Puccini throughout La Bohème.

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