La bohème
Music by Ruggero Leoncavallo · libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo · premiered 1897 · at Teatro La Fenice
La bohème is an Italian opera in four acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème (1851) by Henri Murger. The opera received a successful premiere at the Teatro la Fenice, Venice, on 6 May 1897. Leoncavallo wrote his opera La bohème contemporaneously with Giacomo Puccini's own treatment of the same story. Leoncavallo later revised the work, titling it Mimì Pinson, but despite initial respect, it did not survive. Puccini's version has become a standard in the operatic repertoire, whereas Leoncavallo's opera is rarely performed. Leoncavallo's version did not receive its UK premiere until May 1970. Allan Atlas has analysed in detail the different treatments of the death of the Mimì character in both Leoncavallo's and Puccini's versions of La bohème, contrasting the historical success of Puccini's opera and the relative failure of Leoncavallo's.
Text from the Wikipedia article "La bohème (Leoncavallo)", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Ruggero Leoncavallo is the composer of record for this opera.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Ruggero Leoncavallo", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Other Operas by Ruggero Leoncavallo
- Der Roland von Berlin (1840)
- Chatterton (1876)
- I Medici (1893)
- Are You There? (1913)
- Edipo re (1920)