Opera Talk: La Boheme (Virtual)

Jeffrey Engel will detail the history of Puccini’s fourth opera, La Boheme, and play recorded excerpts from it.

The 1896 world premiere of La Boheme in Turin, Italy, was not a critical success. In fact, only one critic wrote a favorable review. Another article predicted that "Boheme would have a small influence on the history of opera and might be dismissed by its composer as a momentary mistake.” The public, however, was more receptive.

Boheme had its La Scala premiere in 1897, was revived  in 1900, and then not performed there until 1916. Similarly, Bologna first heard it in 1896 and then not again until twenty years later.

Outside of Italy, Boheme took even longer to establish itself in the repertories of major opera houses in Austria, England, France, and Germany. And yet, by 2023, the Metropolitan Opera had produced it nearly 1400 times! If only those early critics and theater general managers were alive today to see how misguided they had been.

We will offer in-person options at Prosser for future Opera Talks when we are able to do so.