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La bohèmeby Giacomo Puccini
March 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 2010The heartwarming love story that inspired Rent.
La bohème may be the world's most popular opera, and for good reason - it's the quintessential portrait of romance, high-spirited friendship, and the idealistic pursuit of love and art. James Valenti and Ellie Dehn, who lit up the stage in Romeo and Juliet, reunite in one cast, while Adam Diegel and Jennifer Black lead the other in this twin-cast spectacular, conducted by Emmanuelle Joël-Hornak.
Dates + Performancesat Ordway Center. Get directions
Pre-Show Activities
Join us for Opera Insights, a free prologue one hour prior to each opera performance. These entertaining and informative half-hour sessions, hosted by Artistic Director Dale Johnson or other artistic staffers in Ordway Center's mezzanine lobby. They give an overview of the characters and music, provide historical and cultural context for the opera and highlight certain aspects to watch for during the show. |
ACT I
Marcello, a painter, and Rodolfo, a writer, work on their respective pursuits in an ill-heated attic atelier. Marcello complains of the cold and of the coldheartedness of his ex-mistress, Musetta. Rodolfo offers to warm the room by burning his manuscript. Colline, a philosopher, blusters in - no pawn shop will take his books on Christmas Eve. Schaunard, a musician, suddenly bursts into the room with much-needed food, wine and firewood. He relates the story of an eccentric nobleman who hired him to play his violin until his parrot died. After three long days, Schaunard was able to collect his fee only by feeding the bird some poisoned parsley.
Schaunard advises them to save the food for later - Christmas Eve should be celebrated with dinner at the Café Momus. While dividing the remaining money, they are interrupted by the insistent knocking of Benoit, who demands payment of the rent, long past due. The Bohemians invite him in and after priming him with wine, get the old man to admit he has a young mistress. Shocked to discover he also has a wife, the four men pretend to be horrified and quickly usher him out of the room. As the others leave for the café, Rodolfo stays behind to finish an article. He promises to catch up with them later.
Hearing another knock at the door, Rodolfo is surprised to find an attractive young woman, a neighbor whose candle needs a light. He notices her harsh cough and pale complexion, and she soon faints in his arms. Once revived she prepares to leave only to find her key is missing. A draft puts the room into total darkness, and together they begin to hunt for the key. Rodolfo silently pockets the key and suggests they wait for the moonlight to aid their search. He takes a moment to describe himself - a poor poet, rich only in his dreams and visions, who has now found love in the eyes of a stranger.
Her name is Mimì, she says, a seamstress, who in her little room, embroiders flowers that are her private symbols of love and springtime. Life's fairest flower is love, and she returns his adoring affection. Rodolfo's friends call from the street, and he tells them to hold two seats at the café.
ACT II
The Latin Quarter bustles with shoppers and vendors on Christmas Eve. Schaunard examines some musical instruments, Colline buys a rare book and Rodolfo buys Mimì a bonnet. Parpignol appears with his cart and dazzles the young children with toys. The Bohemians gather at the Café Momus as planned and soon after, Musetta appears in the company of Alcindoro, her wealthy, aging admirer. Trying to catch Marcello's jealous eye, she openly describes herself as alluring to all men. In a ruse to distract Alcindoro, she pretends her shoe hurts and sends him off to the cobbler. Once reunited with Marcello, Musetta and the other Bohemians escape the café amidst a military band, assuring the waiter that Alcindoro will pick up the tab when he returns.
ACT III
On a dreary winter morning, Mimì appears at the Barrière d'Enfer ("Hell's gate") bordering the edge of the city. She approaches the tavern where Marcello and Musetta are living, he by painting and she by singing. Mimì asks for his help - Rodolfo has become insanely and unjustifiably jealous. After cruelly demanding that she find another lover, he stormed out the night before. Marcello assures her that he is inside and promises to talk to him. The sound of his voice puts Mimì into hiding. When interrogated, Rodolfo reveals the real reason for the split - Mimì's health is getting worse, and the squalid conditions of his apartment will only hasten her illness. Mimì's coughing betrays her hiding place, and Rodolfo rushes to her. Marcello hears Musetta flirting with a stranger and angrily goes inside. Mimì bids Rodolfo adieu, but listening to Marcello and Musetta fight, they agree to stay together until spring.
ACT IV
Months later, Marcello and Rodolfo are again at work in the garret, having broken off with their respective mistresses. Neither can concentrate, however, as their thoughts are consumed by the women. Colline and Schaunard arrive with lunch, and the four make a mockery of the meager offering by pretending it is a lavish banquet. At the height of their merriment, Musetta bursts in with news that Mimì has collapsed on the stairs. Musetta found her alone, almost dead. Her dying wish is to see Rodolfo one last time. Her hands are cold, and Mimì asks for a muff. Musetta takes off her earrings and tells Marcello to sell them for medicine and to find a doctor. She leaves with him to fetch the muff. Colline takes off his beloved coat, and preparing to pawn it, he and Schaunard leave the lovers alone.
Mimì admits she still loves Rodolfo, and the two reminisce about their happy past. Suddenly she is racked by a coughing fit. The Bohemians return with the necessary provisions. As Rodolfo turns away for a moment, Schaunard observes that Mimì has just died. Comforted by his friends, Rodolfo cries out her name in anguish.
The Creative Team |
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| Conductor | Emmanuel Joel-Hornak |
| Stage Director |
Justin Way |
The Cast |
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| Rodolfo, a poet | James Valenti* |
| Adam Diegel** | |
| Mimì, a seamstress | Ellie Dehn* |
| Jennifer Black** | |
| Marcello, a painter | Hung Yun* |
| Peter Barrett** | |
| Musetta, a belle of the Latin Quarter | Karin Wolverton* |
| Naomi Isabel Ruiz** | |
| Colline, a philosopher | Jonathan Kimple* |
| Rodolfo Nieto** | |
| Schaunard, a musician | Jeffrey Madison* |
| Michael Nyby** | |
| Benoit, the landlord | Ben Crickenberger |
| Parpignol, a toy vendor | Brad Benoit |
| Alcindoro, Musetta's wealthy admirer | Ben Johnson |
| Students, working girls, townsfolk, | |
| shopkeepers, street vendors, soldiers, | |
| waiters, children | |
The Setting |
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| Paris during the 1840s | |
| * performs March 6, 9, 11, 13 | |
| ** performs March 7, 10, 12, 14 | |
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Peter Barrett (Marcello)
Recipient of the Ian Rosenblatt Bursary at the Wexford Festival in Ireland and a top prize winner in the Montreal International Music Competition, baritone Peter Barrett is one of Canada's most important new faces on the opera and concert stage. He began the current season as Denisov/Rayevsky in the Canadian Opera Company's production of War and Peace fo llowed by Dancaïro in Carmen for Vancouver Opera and will return to the COC's Four Seasons stage as Marcello in La bohème. As a concert artist he was heard in Brahms' Deutsches Requiem with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir will be heard in a special program with Toronto's Aldeburgh Connection.
Highlights of his 2007–2008 season included performances of Rossini's Petite messe solennelle (Bach Elgar Choir), Carmina burana (Regina Philharmonic), Janácěk's From the House of the Dead for the COC and a recital tour of Newfoundland under the aegis of Debut Atlantic. Of special interest were concerts in London (UK) and Toronto with the Associates of the Royal Conservatory focused on the music of German and Austrian émigré composers in England during the Second World War. Mr. Barrett appeared for Opera Lyra Ottawa as Figaro in Il barabiere di Siviglia, for the Wexford Festival as the King in Transformations by Conrad Susa and Canada's National Ballet as soloist in Footstep of Air singing music of Beethoven. Emerging as a recitalist of note, he also made debuts with Music Toronto, the Mountain View Festival in Alberta, the New Discovery Winner's Showcase Recital in Ottawa, and in addition to his opera performances at Wexford, was presented in recital. As a soloist with symphonic and choral organizations, he sang Carmina burana for the Windsor Symphony and the Ottawa Choral Society, Die tote Stadt for Toronto's Opera in Concert, Brahms' Deutsches Requiem for Hamilton's Bach Elgar Choir and he made a special guest appearance as soloist in the Luminato gala concert at Roy Thomson Hall.
Further credits include Dancaïro in Carmen for the Canadian Opera Company, Carmina burana for the Mendelssohn Choir, and the Galaxy Rising Star prize for most promising young artist at the 32nd edition of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's National Competition for Young Performers. From Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Barrett is an Alumnus of the prestigious Ensemble Studio of the Canadian Opera Company where his assignments included the Mandarin in Turandot, Marullo in Rigoletto, Ned Keene in Peter Grimes and Ping in Turandot.
Mr. Barrett has sung across Canada in major concert halls, including the North York Performing Arts Centre and the Rosza Centre in Calgary. He studied at Hartwick College in the United States, attended Tanglewood's Music Institute and is a graduate of the Glenn Gould Professional School at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto where he studied under Roxolana Roslak and Peter Tiefenbach.
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Brad Benoit (Parpignol)
Tenor Brad Benoit joined the Minnesota Opera's Resident Artist Program last fall, after attending the prestigious Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist Program, where he covered the role of the Novice in Billy Budd. Other training programs to his credit include those at the Chicago Opera Theater and the Staunton Music Festival. Mr. Benoit is a graduate of Chicago College of the Performing Arts and has sung several roles there: Cecco in Il mondo della luna, the Lyric Tenor in Postcard from Morocco, the Prologue in The Turn of the Screw and La Théièry in L'enfant et les sortilèges. He has also performed the roles of Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia for Opera in the Ozarks and Roméo in Roméo et Juliette and Hadji in Lakmé at his undergraduate alma mater, Loyala University. This past summer he performed in The Tender Land with Sugar Creek Symphony & Song.
On the concert platform, Mr. Benoit has been a guest soloist in Bach's Magnificat for Music by the Lake, Bach's Cantata No. 140 for the Waukesha Symphony Orchestra and the Midsummer Night Benefit for the Young Musicians for Young Humanitarians in Calistoga, California. For The Minnesota Opera last season, Brad sang Ruiz in Il trovatore, Arlecchino and Lampwick in The Adventures of Pinocchio and Count Almaviva in the alternate cast of The Barber of Seville. For his second season in Minnesota, Brad will appear as Gabriele in Casanova's Homecoming, Lord Cecil in Roberto Devereux , Parpingol in La boheme and the Third Jew in Salome.
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Jennifer Black (Mimì)
Lyric soprano Jennifer Black completed the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Program in 2008, and is making many important debuts in her young career. With the New York City Opera, she made her company debut as Musetta in La bohème in April 2006 and returned as Micäela in Carmen in October of 2007. She made her Santa Fe Opera debut as Micäela in Carmen during the 2006 summer season and returned for her role debut as Mimì in La bohème during the summer of 2007. The Santa Fe New-Mexican said, "Jennifer Black was a revelation as Mimì. Her soprano was gleaming and glorious, with wonderful nuances of light and shade and complete dynamic control. She showed the little seamstress's shyness, archness and saucy ardor perfectly, and her arias were meltingly sung. Her sad Act III duet with Corey McKern … was one of the best I've ever heard."
In fall 2008, she made her Los Angeles Opera debut as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica in a new production of Il trittico, and returned to the Metropolitan Opera for Pique Dame. In concert, she performed Carmina burana with New Choral Society, Schumann duets with Matthew Plenk and the MET Chamber Ensemble in Weill Recital Hall with James Levine at the piano and took part in the Richard Tucker Gala. In spring 2009, she performed Lisa in MET's controversial new production of La sonnambula, as well as Mlle. Jouvenot in Adriana Lecouvreur and Bianca (cover) in La rondine at the MET. In addition, she was presented in recital by the George London Foundation at the Morgan Library in NYC.
During the summer of 2009, she returns to Santa Fe Opera to perform Adina in L'elisir d'amore, and throughout the 2009–2010 season and beyond, she makes her debut at Minnesota Opera and Opera Colorado as Mimì in La bohème, makes her concert debut with the New York Philharmonic as Amanda in Ligeti's Le grand macabre, covers Micäela in Carmen at the MET, makes her role debut as Suor Angelica and reprises Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi at the Arizona Opera, makes her role debut as Violetta in La traviata at the Greensboro Opera and makes her debut at Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse in two roles: Musetta in La bohème and the Fifth Maid in Elektra.
Additional recent engagements include her role debut as Juliette in Roméo et Juliette with PORT Opera during summer 2008, the MET's productions of Ariadne auf Naxos, Carmen, Idomeneo, Don Carlo, Le nozze di Figaro, Manon Lescaut and a new production of Suor Angelica under the baton of Maestro James Levine. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2008 in a concert with harpist Grace Gloutier, and performed in the San Francisco Opera's Merola Program as Nella in Gianni Schicchi, Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica and Musetta. A graduate of the Yale School of Music, Ms. Black performed the title roles of Kat'a Kabanova and Suor Angelica, as well as Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte.
Ms. Black was recently awarded a 2008 Opera Index Award, a 2007 George London/Leonie Rysanek Award and received second place in the 2007 Loren L. Zachary Society Competition. She was also a 2000 Metropolitan Opera National Council Awards finalist, a recipient of a 2005 Sullivan Grant and a finalist in the Dallas Opera Guild Competition, the Houston Grand Opera's Eleanor McCollum Competition, the Connecticut Opera Guild and the MacAllister Awards.
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Ellie Dehn (Mimì)
Not yet 30, young American soprano Ellie Dehn has engagements through 2012 in many of the world's leading opera house including Teatro alla Scala, The Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Geneva, Bologna, Santa Cecilia and Houston Opera. Miss Dehn's engagements in 2008–2009 included her debut in Geneva as Agathe in Der Freischütz, her debuts in Bilbao as Madame Cortese in Il viaggio a Reims, in Los Angeles as Freia in Das Rheingold and her return to the Cincinnati May Festival for Mahler's Symphony No. 8. Future engagements and debuts in upcoming seasons include her debut in Munich as Donna Anna, Teatro alla Scala as Antonia and her return to the Metropolitan Opera as Musetta. In addition, she will debut the Rossini Opera Festival as Aldimira in Sigismondo, make her San Francisco Opera and the Houston Grand Opera debuts as Contessa in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and return to San Francisco as Donna Anna. She will also return to Santa Cecilia for Il viaggio a Reims and debut the role of Mimì in La bohème at Minnesota Opera.
Miss Dehn's 2006–2007 season, in which she opened the new season of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna as Anne Truelove in a new production of The Rake's Progress under the baton of Daniele Gatti, was followed by Donna Anna in Don Giovanni for Opera Pacific, and her debut at the Cincinnati May Festival ending the season as Gluck's Euridice and in Haydn's The Seasons with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the baton of James Conlon.
Miss Dehn has enjoyed a full 2005–2006 season during which she made her Italian debut with Anne Truelove in The Rake's Progress at the Accademia Santa Cecilia in Rome under the baton of Daniele Gatti in a performance that was televised by the RAI, followed by her Opera Orchestra of New York debut in Carnegie Hall as Jemmy in Guillaume Tell. She also debuted as the first soprano in Mozart's Mass in C minor with the New York Choral Society, also at Carnegie Hall, repeating the same role with the Spoleto Festival USA where she also sang Donna Elvira in a revival of Mozart's Don Giovanni in early summer 2006. Additional engagements of the season brought Ms. Dehn to Tulsa Opera for performances of the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro and to PORTopera for the role of Donna Anna.
While completing her studies at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia in 2004–2005, Miss Dehn made her Opera Pacific debut as the Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, her Spoleto USA debut as Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni, and was also a soloist with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of Mexico in Mahler's Symphony No. 8 and with Opéra de Québec in their annual Opera Gala Concert.
Miss Dehn made her Carnegie Hall debut in the 2003–2004 season with the Cleveland Orchestra as a Flower Maiden in Richard Wagner's Parsifal under the baton of Pierre Boulez, and returned to Carnegie Hall as a soprano soloist in Bach's Magnificat with Mid-America Productions.
Miss Dehn's most recent roles at the Academy of Vocal Arts have been Fiordiligi in Mozart's Così fan tutte, the Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, and the Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni. Other roles of the young soprano include Violetta in Verdi's La traviata, Anne Truelove in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, and Clorinda in Rossini's La Cenerentola.
Honors and Awards for Ellie Dehn have included second place (James McCracken award) in the 2006 Elardo International Opera competition, an Encouragement Award in the Gerda Lissner Competition, the 2005 National Grand Finalist Award in the Metropolitan National Council Auditions, second place in the 2004 Licia Albanese/Puccini Foundation Competition and first place in the 2004 J.P. Italian Opera Competition. She received an encouragement award in the 2003 Marian Anderson Competition and won first place in the 2002 Dayton Opera Guild Competition, the 2002 Akron Symphony competition, the 2002 Oberlin Concerto Competition and the 2001 Vocal Resource Network Competition. In 2007, Ellie also received an award from the George London Foundation.
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Adam Diegel (Rodolfo)
"Tenor Adam Diegel offers a very believable portrayal of the predominantly selfish, shallow Lt. Pinkerton, who nevertheless has more emotional depth than he reveals most of the time. Diegel's excellent dramatic voice is powerful and expressive, and capable of making the audience realize not only Pinkerton's great selfishness and xenophobic nature but also his ability to feel true love for his Japanese bride and his sincere remorse at the knowledge that her love for him can cause her great pain." Opera Company of North Carolina - Madama Butterfly, 2008 Tenor Adam Diegel is quickly gaining notoriety as a young talent on the rise. Most recently Adam made his European debut as Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur. He also stepped in as a last minute replacement to sing Cavaradossi in Tosca with the company. Additional engagements for 2009-2010 include Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with the Savonlinna Opera Festival, a cover of Cavaradossi in Tosca with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Don José in Carmen with both Florida Grand Opera and Madison Opera and Rodolfo in i with both Opera Omaha and Minnesota Opera. In the 2008-2009 season Mr. Diegel joined New York City Opera covering in Tosca and Cavelleria rusticana. He debuted at the Opera Company of North Carolina as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly opposite Angela Maria Blasi and sang his first Rodolfo in La bohème with the Princeton Festival. He also sang his first Tosca with Opera Theater of Connecticut to conclude the season. Other recent engagements include Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly in Indiana and an appearance in The Little Prince at Tulsa Opera. With Virginia Opera he performed the role of the Elder Hays while covering Sam in Susannah and he made his Fort Worth Opera debut as the Maitre'd in the world premiere of Pasatieri's Frau Margot. Mr. Diegel attended Yale University where he sang the role of Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi. While at Yale, he performed scenes from Lucia di Lammermoor and Roméo et Juliette. He attended the University of Memphis (Tennessee) where he studied Philosophy and sang scenes from La bohème and Lucia di Lammermoor with the University of Memphis opera department. Also at Memphis, he sang La bohème arias and duets with the University Orchestra as a result of winning the Concerto Competition. Musical theater performances include the role of Prince Charming in Sondheim's Into the Woods, for which he won the Ostrander Theatre Award for his performance. He sang a joint recital with internationally known soprano Kallen Esperian. He had previously performed with Ms. Esperian in a benefit concert for Opera Memphis. His association with Opera Memphis includes singing in the ensemble of La traviata, Les contes d'Hoffmann, Turandot and Carmen. Adam Diegel, a native of Memphis, Tennessee, was a national finalist in the 2003 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. |
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Emmanuel Joel-Hornak (conductor)
Renowned French conductor Emmanuel Joel-Hornak has led major orchestras around the world in opera and orchestral works. He recently conducted productions with English National Opera, Aix-en -Provence Festival, NBR New Zealand Opera, Scottish Opera, New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, L'Opéra National de Paris-Bastille, the Wexford Festival, as well as the conducting the leading opera companies of Lyon, Nantes, Montpellier, Toulouse, Sydney and Strasbourg. He made his United States opera debut in San Francisco Opera's production of Carmen during the 1996-1997 Season, and was immediately re-engaged to conduct San Francisco's productions of Don Carlo and La bohème in the following seasons.
Maestro Joel-Hornak's American career continues in recent years with La traviata at the New York City Opera, Werther at the Los Angeles Opera with Ramon Vargas, Faust with Cincinnati Opera, Don Pasquale with Simone Alaimo and Ruth Ann Swenson at the Los Angeles Opera, Manon with Elisabeth Futral at the Houston Grand Opera, Samson et Dalila with Olga Borodina and Sergey Larin with the San Francisco Opera, Vanessa at the Washington National Opera with Kiri Te Kanawa, Roméo et Juliette at the Pittsburgh Opera with Marcello Giordani, La grande duchesse de Gérolstein with Opera Company of Philadelphia, and a return to the Houston Grand Opera for Roméo et Juliette with Ramón Vargas and Ana Maria Martinez.
In the fall 2008, he returned to Opera Australia in Sydney for Les pêcheurs de perles, marking his eighth engagement with the company, as well as conducting a new production of La traviata at the Scottish Opera directed by David McVicar. For the Christmas Holidays 2008, Maestro Joel-Hornak conducted a new production of La Périchole at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, and in the spring 2009, he conducted Les contes d'Hoffmann at Opéra de Nice, La traviata at Scottish Opera and Carmen at the New Israeli Opera of Tel Aviv. In the 2009–2010 season, engagements include Les contes d'Hoffmann at Opera Colorado, Les brigands at the Opéra National de Bordeaux, La Périchole at Opéra de Lausanne, and La bohème and Salome at Minnesota Opera, as well as Il trovatore at the Opéra National de Bordeaux in 2011.
In the 2007–2008 season, he conducted Les contes d'Hoffmann and Les pêcheurs de perles with the Australian Opera in Melbourne, a new production of Roméo et Juliette at the Opéra de Toulon-Provence Méditerranée, a new production of Faust at the Opéra National de Bordeaux, La bohème with the NBR New Zealand Opera and a symphonic concert with the Auckland Philamornia Orchestra. The 2006–2007 season included two major company debuts: first, a new production of Faust in his NBR New-Zealand Opera debut in Wellington and Auckland, and then made his Pittsburgh Opera debut conducting Roméo et Juliette with Marcello Giordani. He then returned to the Opéra de Lausanne to conduct Paisiello's Il barbiere di Siviglia in the production of the Théâtre de la Monnaie-Bruxelles, as well as a symphonic concert with the Auckland Philarmonia Orchestra. In the 2005–2006, Maestro Joel-Hornak made his company debut at Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden in Germany for a new production of Carmen, his Opera Leipzig debut in Les contes d'Hoffmann, returned to the English National Opera for La belle Hélène with Dame Felicity Lott in the Laurent Pelly production.
Additional noted engagements from recent seasons include Carmen at the Royal Opera of Stockholm, Thaïs at the Barbican of London with Elisabeth Futral, Massenet's Don Quixote, Les pêcheurs de perles and La bohème with the English National Opera, Werther at the Oslo Opera, Pelléas et Mélisande in Gothenburg, Manon and Il trovatore at the Sydney Opera, his Tiroler Landestheater debut in Innsbruck with Don Carlo and Massenet's Chérubin, Carmen at the Royal Opera of Stockholm, Pelléas et Mélisande in Toulouse, Dialogues des Carmélites in Gothenburg and Oslo, Ernani with the Nederland's Reise Opera, Il trittico in Nantes, Berlioz's Béatrice et Benedict in Lausanne, Faust in Marseilles, La fanciulla del West in Montpellier, Roméo et Juliette at the Opéra National du Rhin-Strasbourg, Samson et Dalila and Barraud's Marouf in Marseilles and Orphée aux enfers at the Teatro Regio di Torino. In addition, he has lead productions of Thomas's Hamlet in Torino, La belle Hélène, Aïda and Nabucco with Scottish Opera in Edinburgh, Werther and Madama Butterfly with New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, Chausson's Le roi Arthus and Samson et Dalila in Montpellier and Sydney, Carmen at the Jerusalem Festival and Semele and Les pêcheurs de perles with Melbourne's Victoria State Opera. At the L'Opéra National de Paris-Bastille, he made his debut with Offenbach's Les brigands, as well as his debut at the Wexford Festival in Boieldieu's La dame blanche and in Dublin for Delibes's Lakmé.
In concert, Maestro Joel-Hornak has led the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne at the Montreux Festival, Orchestre de Bretagne, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Orchestre Symphonique de la Monnaie in Brussels, Orchestre Colonne and Orchestre Philarmonique de Radio France in Paris, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lithuania at the Vilnius Festival, the Orchestra of the Teatro Regio di Torino, Het Gelders Orkest in Arnhem, the Philarmonisches Orchester Dortmund, l'Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse and Auckland Philamornia Orchestra.
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Ben Johnson (Alcindoro)
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Jonathan Kimple (Colline)
Bass-baritone Jonathan Kimple recently completed Portland Opera's Studio Artist Program, where he sang the roles of Giove in Cavalli's La Calisto, Count Ceprano in Rigoletto and the Marchese d'Obigny in La traviata while covering the role of Don Pizarro in Fidelio. As a Santa Fe Apprentice Artist, Mr. Kimple covered the roles of Farasmane in Handel's Radamisto, the title role in Le nozze di Figaro and Alcindoro/Benoit in La bohème. For Sarasota Opera he has sung Count Ceprano in Rigoletto and covered Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte. Other credits include the Sergeant of Police in The Pirates of Penzance for Virginia Opera, Colline (cover) in La bohème for Dicapo Opera and the Grand Prêtre in Antonio Sacchini's Oedipe à Colone for Opera Lafayette.
Originally from central Iowa, Mr. Kimple obtained his bachelor of music degree from the University of Maryland and his master of music degree from Manhattan School of Music, where he performed the roles of William Emmons in The Village Singer and Simone in Gianni Schicchi. He has also attended the Music Academy of the West, covering Don Profondo for its production of Il viaggio a Reims. As a Minnesota Opera Resident Artist, Mr. Kimple will sing Nourabad in The Pearl Fishers, the Second Inquisitor and Tartaglia in Casanova's Homecoming, Gualtiero Raleigh in Roberto Devereux, Colline in La bohème and the Second Soldier in Salome.
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Jeffrey Madison (Schaunard)
Baritone Jeffrey Madison is a dynamic performer equally at home on the operatic, musical theater and concert stage. His rich voice has been heard singing such roles as Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Marcello (La bohème), Leporello (Don Giovanni), the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Frank Maurrant (Street Scene) and Papageno (Die Zauberflöte). He has performed with the Astoria Music Festival, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Minnesota Opera, North Star Opera, and on various university stages. Mr. Madison is the 2006 Schubert Club Graduate Voice Division Winner and a district winner at the 2006-2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Most recently, he has performed the role of Antonio (Le nozze di Figaro) with Minnesota Opera; Albert (Werther) and El Dancaïre (Carmen) with Chautauqua Opera; Mr. Webb (Our Town), Gilbert (Gilbert and Sullivan a la carte) and Malatesta (Don Pasquale) for Skylark Opera; and Bottom (A Midsummer Night's Dream) as a Seattle Opera Young Artist.
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Rodolfo Nieto (Colline)
Bass-baritone Rodolfo Nieto most recently appeared as Don Alfonso for Cedar Rapids Opera Theater's production of Così fan tutte. Other roles for that company include the Imperial Commissioner in Madame Butterfly and Pooh-Bah in The Mikado. During the 2008 season he was a Central City Opera Young Artist, where he sang the roles of Don Magnifico and Alidoro in Cinderella and Godofredo in La Curandera for its outreach program. In 2007, Mr. Nieto appeared as Gravitas in the world premiere of Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings at Theatre@Boston Court.
Mr. Nieto attended Northwestern University, where he performed as Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte and Simone in Gianni Schicchi. At Luther College, he has sung the title role in The Marriage of Figaro, the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte. As a resident artist for the Minnesota Opera this season, Mr. Nieto appears as the Third Inquisitor and Spanish Captain in Casanova's Homecoming, the Friend of Nottingham in Roberto Devereux, Colline in La bohème and the First Guard in Salome.
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Michael Nyby (Schaunard)
Baritone Michael Nyby joins the Minnesota Opera's Resident Artist Program after having spent this past summer as a part of the prestigious Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist program. Previously, he has sung Moralès in Carmen for Vancouver Opera and Figaro in The Barber of Barkerville for Vancouver Opera in Schools. For Burnaby Lyric Opera, Mr. Nyby has sung Haly in The Italian Girl in Algiers and the title roles of Don Giovanni and Il barbiere di Siviglia for the European Music Academy of Teplice.
Mr. Nyby holds a master's degree in opera from the University of British Columbia, where he has sung the roles of Ford in Falstaff, Falke in Die Fledermaus and Cascada in The Merry Widow. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Ithaca College, performing such roles Cascada, David in A Hand of Bridge, the Secret Police Agent in The Consul and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte. He also appeared as Pinellino in Gianni Schicchi for the Ithaca Opera Company. For the Minnesota Opera's 2009–2010 season, Mr. Nyby will be appearing as the Montebank in Casanova's Homecoming, the Page in Roberto Devereux, Schaunard in La bohème and the Fifth Jew in Salome.
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Naomi Isabel Ruiz (Musetta)
Born in Bremerton, Washington, soprano Naomi Isabel Ruiz earned a Performer Diploma and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from Indiana University, where she studied with Patricia Wise. While a student at IU, Ms. Ruiz appeared with the Indiana University Opera Theatre as Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Antonia in A Wedding by Willam Bolcom. During her final year at IU, she taught voice class as an Associate Instructor. In 2007, she performed as a semifinalist in the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, was an IU Travel Grant Competition Award winner and won first place in the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition. Through Mu Phi Epsilon, Ms. Ruiz was awarded a 2007 Summer Scholarship and a 2006 International Brena Hazzard Voice Scholarship.
In the summer
of 2007, Ms. Ruiz performed Mimì in La
bohème with the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music
Center. The summer of
2005, she was seen as Ännchen in Der
Freischütz and Constance in Dialogues
des Carmélites in opera scene productions of the Bay Area Summer
Opera Theatre Institute (BASOTI). Ms. Ruiz participated in the master class of
Patricia Wise at the Mozarteum in Salzburg,
Austria in the
summer of 2004. During the summer of 2008, she was selected to participate in
Timothy Noble's Charlie Creek Vocal Workshop and this past summer she was a Des
Moines Metro Opera Young Artist where she sang opera scene performances of
Nedda in I pagliacci, Elvira in Don Giovanni, Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites and Lauretta
in the one act production of Gianni Schicchi.
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James Valenti (Rodolfo)
American tenor James Valenti has been hailed for having a voice of Italianate beauty, for his handsome stage presence, and for his elegant musicianship in performances with the leading opera companies of the world. He is considered one of his generation's brightest rising stars. Valenti's repertoire encompasses the romantic leading roles of both Italian and French repertoire, including Puccini's Rodolfo in La bohème and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Verdi's Duke of Mantua and Alfredo, and Gounod's Roméo and Faust. He is equally at home with the bel canto roles of Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor.
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Karin Wolverton (Musetta)
"... a young soprano to watch. She showed a lovely warm tone, easy agility and winning musicality. Her Act II duet with Maria, "A figlia incauta" was exquisitly sung." – Opera News Soprano Karin Wolverton has been described by Opera News as "a young soprano to watch," having "a lovely warm tone, easy agility and winning musicality." Recently Ms. Wolverton sang the role of Mimì in La bohème with Pensacola Opera and sang the Spirit as well as covering the title role in Rusalka with Minnesota Opera. Engagements for 2008–2009 included a reprisal of her role in The Grapes of Wrath with Pittsburgh Opera, the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with Piedmont Opera and Mimì in La bohème with Teatro Nacional de Managua in Nicaragua. Additional upcoming engagements include Mimì in La bohème with Orlando Opera and a concert appearance with Great Falls Symphony. Ms. Wolverton has been seen as Micaëla in Carmen with Des Moines Metro Opera, where in previous seasons she has been seen in the roles of Anne Trulove in The Rake's Progress and Antonia in Les contes d' Hoffmann. Engagements for 2006–2007 included a return to Minnesota Opera for Antonia in its Les contes d' Hoffmann, participation in the world premiere of The Grapes of Wrath with both Minnesota Opera and Utah Opera and a soloist engagement with the Eugene Symphony in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. She has performed the role of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Minnesota Opera, where she dazzled audiences as Ines in Donizettti's rarely performed bel canto masterpiece Maria Padilla and sang Micaëla in Carmen to a warm reception. In recent years she has appeared as Pamina in The Magic Flute, the Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto, Praskowia in The Merry Widow, Clotilde in Norma, Moira in The Handmaid's Tale, Alisa in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and as the Celestial Voice in Verdi's Don Carlos. Ms. Wolverton was a featured soloist in the Minnesota Orchestra's performances of Dvorak's Te Deum and sang Mimì in excerpts from La bohème. Ms. Wolverton has spent two summers as an apprentice with the Des Moines Metro Opera, covering the role of Marguerite in Faust as well as participating in the Scenes Program. She recently graduated with a master of arts in vocal performance at the University of Minnesota, where she has performed several roles as part of its Opera Theatre: Madame Lidoine in Dialogues of the Carmelites, the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro and Nero in The Coronation of Poppea. Partial roles through the Opera Workshop include Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), the Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier), Laetitia (The Old Maid and the Thief), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Agathe (Der Freischütz), and Micaëla (Carmen). Other past engagements include the Second Soprano in Park Square Theatre's production of Masterclass and the featured soloist for the University of Minnesota's Sesquicentennial Celebration. Ms. Wolverton was invited to participate in Central City Opera's Young Artist Program in Colorado where she covered Giulietta in The Tales of Hoffmann and appeared in The Student Prince. In December of 2004, she sang the role of the Mother in the Minnesota Orchestra's production of Amahl and the Night Visitors.
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Justin Way (stage director)
Justin Way is rapidly establishing a reputation as a director of significant talent and accomplishment. To date, this young director has staged 26 operas and concerts and assisted in the direction of 43 productions in Europe, Australia and the United States. He has worked with the Royal Opera House – Covent Garden, the English Touring Opera, Opera Australia, Fundació del Gran Teatre del Liceu, Covent Garden Festival, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, Festival Les Azuriales, Opera Fountainbleau, Clerkenwell Music Festival, Bregenzer Festspiele and Washington National Opera.
Invited to join the Royal Opera House – Covent Garden for its re-opening in 1999, Justin Way has since directed revivals and assisted in the direction of numerous new productions and revivals for the company. As staff director for ROH, Mr. Way has directed revivals of Madama Butterfly (Leiser and Caurier), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Lowery), and La Cenerentola (Leiser and Caurier), he has directed several casts in La traviata for the company's education department, and has directed scenes for the Royal College of Music. Productions on which he has served as assistant director for the company include Billy Budd (Zambello), The Tempest (Cairns), Duke Bluebeard's Castle/Erwartung (Willy Decker), Wozzeck (Warner) and Greek Passion (Poutney) which both won Olivier Awards for Best Opera Production, Don Giovanni (Zambello), Pique Dame (Zambello), Tosca (Cox/Zeffirelli), Falstaff (Vick), Il trovatore (Moshinsky), Otello (Moshinsky), Rigoletto (Metcalfe), Ariadne auf Naxos (Loy), Der fliegende Holländer (Judge), Die Meistersinger (Vick) and Parsifal (Gruber).
Recent and upcoming directorial projects include his highly acclaimed production of Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail for Chicago Opera Theater, his recent new production of Alcina for Opera Australia, his upcoming new production of La traviata for the 75th anniversary celebration of Central City Opera in the United States, his upcoming new production of Orlando, also for Chicago Opera Theater, an additional new production of Orlando for Opera Australia and a new production of The Beggars Opera for the Royal Opera House – Covent Garden in The Linbury Theatre. Mr. Way has just completed revivals of Madama Butterfly (Leiser & Caurier) which he directed for Fundació del Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Ariadne auf Naxos which he directed for Gran Théâtre de Genève. Future revivals for Royal Opera House – Covent Garden include new productions of Le nozze di Figaro (McVicar) and Das Rheingold (Warner) as part of three cycles of the Ring Cycle to be presented in the upcoming season.
Additional recent assignments include his new productions of Dardanus, Semele and The Fairy Queen for Pinchgut Opera in Australia, additional ROH revivals of Otello, Il trovatore and Greek Passion, new productions of Il turco in Italia (Leiser & Caurier), Das Rheingold/Die Walküre (Warner) and Faust (McVicar) on which he assisted, and a revival of Madama Butterfly (Leiser & Caurier) which he directed for the company.
In his hometown of Sydney for Opera Australia, he has assisted on Baz Lurhmann's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Lindy Hume's Lucrezia Borgia, and Elijah Moshinsky's Werther. Other revival director work includes Le nozze di Figaro for English Touring Opera, where he also assisted Stephen Metcalfe in Verdi's Rigoletto, and La Cenerentola for Washington National Opera.
Justin Way has trained in theater and opera houses throughout the world. He was appointed Affiliate Director of Sydney Theatre Company in 1996 and his early training includes work at the Maryinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg and the Kirov as well as the Australian Opera. He has acted for Vortex, Australian Theatre for Young People and Sydney University Drama Society. He holds degrees in dramatic arts from the National Institute of Dramatic Art and the University of Sydney.
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Hung Yun (Marcello)
A
rising star on the operatic scene Korean baritone Hung Yun has already been
seen on some of the most prestigious stages in the United States. With the
Metropolitan Opera he has sung the roles of Valentin in Faust under the
baton of Maestro James Levine, Ping in Turandot, Lescaut in Manon with
Renée Fleming in the title role, and Silvio in Pagliacci, as well
as covering Belcore in L'elisir d'amore. With Los Angeles
Opera he made his debut as Angelotti in Tosca and returned to sing Lescaut in Manon with Rolando
Villazon and Anna Netrebko under the baton of Plácido Domingo, as well as
Marcello in La bohème. He debuted as Ping
in Turandot at Santa Fe Opera and returned to sing The 50th
Anniversary Gala Concert. Upcoming, Mr. Yun will return to his native Seoul, Korea
for the Messiah and the Count in Le nozze di Figaro. Additionally
he will sing Valentin in Faust with Madison Opera, Silvio
in Pagliacci and Escamillo in Carmen with Utah Festival Opera
Company, and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with Tulsa
Opera. In the 2009–2010 season, Mr. Yun will sing Marcello in La
bohème with Minnesota Opera as well as returning to Los Angeles
Opera for their production of Gezeichneten.
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La bohème
Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
after Henry Murger’s novel Scènes de la vie de bohème (1851)
World premiere at the Teatro Regio, Turin
February 1, 1896
March 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, 2010
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Sung in Italian with English captions
"Let the public judge" – dangerous words for an insecure composer like Giacomo Puccini, who wavered between his choices for operatic treatment with great uncertainty. Yet that was the composer's response when confronted by Ruggero Leoncavallo (of Pagliacci fame), who claimed Puccini had stolen his idea to set Henry Murger's scenes of Bohemian life in the 1830s.
Leoncavallo probably was not too far off the mark. He had shown Puccini a libretto for La bohème as early as 1892, and Puccini had a predilection for honing in on a subject once someone else had displayed an interest in it. Privately, he didn't think much of Leoncavallo's libretto-writing skills (he had also been one of the first of five in the preparation of the book for Manon Lescaut). Nonetheless, Puccini obviously didn't have his thoughts together when they accidentally met in a Milan coffee shop one March afternoon. He let it be known his intentions for his own Bohème, and the slip of the tongue left the two colleagues bitter enemies. They resorted to airing their differences in the local Italian papers.
Puccini's publisher, Giulio Ricordi, immediately inquired about obtaining the rights. Unfortunately there were two published versions of Murger's stories, which first appeared in a Parisian newspaper as a series of short vignettes. In 1849, Théodore Barrière had approached Murger about a possible play adaptation, which turned into La vie de bohème. The success of the play led to a lucrative book deal in 1851, entitled Scènes de la vie de bohème. While the play was still controlled by Barrière and subject to copyright laws, the book had fallen into the public domain with the death of an heirless Murger in 1861. Exclusivity to a single composer was not an option.
Ricordi decided to go forward anyway and engaged Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa as librettists. The two had also been involved in Manon Lescaut and already had experienced Puccini's prickly demeanor in respect to text modifications. Still, they probably didn't imagine the job that was in store when they signed on the dotted line.
The problem was with the book itself. Murger's Scènes is a disconnected sequence of events with a loose configuration of often unrelated characters. The librettists began by envisioning their work in terms of a series of tableaux instead of acts. Guided by a sense of impressionist theater, they developed captivating atmospheric episodes around the fairly thin plot line involving Mimì and Rodolfo's love story. In fact, very few of Murger's original scenes survive in the final version of Puccini's opera.
The specifics of the libretto became a hot issue as the project evolved, and the first drafts of the opera also bear little resemblance to what we understand to be La bohème today. Originally it was to begin with the present Act II setting in the Latin Quarter, but early on it was conceived to both open and close in the artists' garret, giving the piece a certain degree of unity. Greater roles were assigned to Colline and Schaunard, the latter being given his own Act iv aria about the capriciousness of women. One of the greatest changes was the deletion of an entire act set in the courtyard of Musetta's lodgings – bringing threats of resignation by the librettists who were retained only by the cool handling of Ricordi. The scene in question involves the eviction of Musetta on the day she has planned a party. As her furniture is removed, the Bohemians decide to have the soirée out front. The scene has little continuity with any other part of the opera except that it is here Mimì meets the ethereal Vicomte while she is dressed in one of Musetta's gowns. Her flirting and eventual departure with the young nobleman leaves Rodolfo in a jealous frenzy and gives credence to his later denunciations in Act III. Puccini wished that Mimì's character remain untarnished, a femme fragile in direct opposition to Musetta's femme fatale. He got his way, though some dramatic issues remain unresolved. With Rodolfo's now-unsubstantiated declarations of Mimì's infidelity in Act iii, the Vicomte receives a casual, unprepared reference in Act IV as Mimì's live-in companion after her split with Rodolfo.
Act IV also posed some problems, and here the librettists carried the day. Puccini wanted to open with Mimì on her deathbed, but Illica and Giacosa feared this bore too close a resemblance to the final scene of La traviata. Their suggestions of a political dialogue for Schaunard and a brindisi toasting the Water Drinkers (a pseudo-Freemasonesque group Murger had sponsored for those too poor to drink wine) were fused into the Bohemian's hijinks just prior to Mimì's arrival. Further continuity was drawn between Act I and Act IV by opening them similarly - with Rodolfo and Marcello alone together in their garret dwelling, bemoaning their current condition, first without heat, later without women.
The end product is a truly remarkable work. Out of enough material, as Illica quipped, "for 10 operas," Puccini crafted a surprisingly concise score, complete with short recurrent melodic references (though not nearly as codified as Wagner) and a brilliant use of the orchestral palette. Equally impressive is his handling of side-by-side comedy and pathos - something not easily achieved – and his ease in carrying us from one emotion to the other. In contrast, with its closer adherence to the original material, Leoncavallo's opera is weighted by the overall tragedy and its adaptation to more traditional operatic formulas, leading to its virtual eclipse some 10 years after the premiere. Puccini won the day, as the popularity of his La bohème continues to hold.
GIACOMO PUCCINI
b Lucca, December 22, 1858; d Brussels, November 29, 1924
Puccini was born into a family of court composers and organists in the historic city of Lucca, Italy. With a strong feeling of tradition in the Puccini family, it was expected that Giacomo would assume his deceased father's position as maestro di cappella when he came of age. By 14 he already was playing organ in a number of the town's churches. At age 18 a performance of Verdi's Aida inspired him to devote his life to opera. In 1880, Puccini began composition studies with Amilcare Ponchielli at the Milan Conservatory of Music. There he was introduced into the professional artists' circle, to which he would belong for the rest of his life.
Puccini was not a prolific composer. Unlike most of his contemporaries, there were long intervals between his operas, partly because of his fastidiousness in choosing and modifying his subjects. Often he would abandon them after only several months. His constant demands for modifications of the texts frequently delayed the progress of his projects. Much of Puccini's time, too, was spent hunting in the marshes around his home and traveling abroad to supervise revivals of his works.
Puccini's first work for the stage, Le villi, was originally submitted to a contest sponsored by the music publisher Edoardo Sonzogno. The one-act opera did not receive even honorable mention, but Puccini was certain of its merit. He and librettist Ferdinando Fontana began to canvass the opera to the broader circle of the Italian intelligentsia. One of these individuals was the highly influential Arrigo Boito (at that time in correspondence with Verdi about the preparation of the libretto for Otello), who was instrumental in getting Le villi staged.
The reception to the new work was mixed, but the revised two-act version was staged in a number of cities outside of Italy, a remarkable feat for a virtually unknown composer. Puccini's next opera, Edgar, was a resounding critical failure. However, the astute publisher, Giulio Ricordi, found fault in the libretto only, yet promise in the music. He pitted himself against the shareholders of his publishing house, who demanded that Puccini be released from retainer. Ricordi's confidence was rewarded with Manon Lescaut, Puccini's first true success.
During the 1890s, Puccini began working with Luigi Illica, who worked out the scheme and drafted the dialogue, and with the poet and playwright Giuseppe Giacosa, who put Illica's lines into verse. Although they had participated in Manon Lescaut (as part of a string of several librettists), their first real collaboration was La bohème in 1896, followed four years later by Tosca and then Madame Butterfly four years after that. Giacosa died in 1906, putting an end to the successful team that produced three of Puccini's most enduring works.
Puccini's later operas were quite varied in their styles and subjects. La fanciulla del West, set in the American West, is notable for its advanced impressionistic orchestration and composition. La rondine was designed to be a sentimental musical comedy in the Viennese style. Il trittico was a mixed bag of one-act operas: Il tabarro, a tip-of-the-hat to Italian verismo; Suor Angelica, a nun embroiled in a battle for the future of her illegitimate child; and most popular of the three, Gianni Schicchi, a comic masterpiece that features Puccini at his most exuberant.
Turandot was Puccini's last (and arguably his greatest) opera. Unfortunately, he died before completing it. Another composer finished the job, but at the premiere Arturo Toscanini set down his baton and refused to continue past Puccini's last note.
Puccini has been much maligned for his flirtation with popular culture, but he had an uncanny feel for a good story and a talent for composing enthralling yet economical music. Like many of his contemporaries, he constantly was experimenting with tonality and form, though his experiments were always subtle and without controversy. Having produced only 12 operas, the composer's personal life was plagued with self doubt and laborious perfectionism. Still, Puccini profoundly influenced the world of opera with a deep understanding of music, drama and humanity.
RECOMMENDED RECORDINGS
Sayão, Tucker, Benzell, Valentino, Cehanovsky, Moscona
Antonicelli; Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Choru
sony classical mh2k 62762
Orgonasova, Welch, Gonzales, Previati, Senator, Urbas, Novak, Sulzenko, Benacka, Hallon
Humburg; Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choru
naxos 8660003/4
Pavarotti, Freni, Harwood, Panerai, Ghiaurov, Maffeo, Pietsch, Senechal, Pohl, Appelt, Senechal
Karajan; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Deutsche Oper Chorus
london/decca 2lh2 421049
Gheorghiu, Alagna, Keenlyside, Scano, D'Arcangelo, De Candia, Mariotti, Mariotti, Ragona, Scarpolini, Spedicato, Podda
Chailly; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra and Chorus
london/decca 2lh2 466070
RECOMMENDED READING
Nicholas John, editor
English National Opera Guide – No. 14: La bohème (includes libretto)
Riverrun Press
Arthur Groos, editor
Cambridge Opera Handbooks Series: La bohème
Cambridge University Press
Mosco Carner
Puccini: A Critical Biography
Holmes and Meir
Henry Murger (Elizabeth Ward Hugus, translator)
Scènes de la vie de bohème
Hyperion Press
FOR MORE INFORMATION
A class devoted to La bohème will be held on Monday, February 22, 2010, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Call 612-333-6669 for registration information or visit mnopera.org/learn/classes.