I saw La Boheme tonight, at the Seattle Opera house. The sets were amazing, and the performers were great. Apparently, we even paid more to get our Mimi. She’s Europe’s favorite Mimi right now.
There are four men and two women in the production, and even though Mimi is the star (the shirts for sale read “It’s all about Mimi”, which indicates we have a sense of humor) she’s nothing in the story. Her sole importance is in that she is the love interest. There’s no character development of her at all!
Now, Musetta - she’s a bitch, and a gold-digger. But kindhearted. I liked her. I didn’t care about Mimi, even though the last scene where she died had me kind of sad for the people around her.
Am I just a jaded person, or have other people felt this way about this opera? Is there something I missed?
Well, it is a classic “she dies singing her heart out” opera but I’ve always felt the best tunes were in Act I. The music rather than the “story” gets me if you know what I mean.
Nope, I felt exactly the same way when I saw it a few years ago. Musetta was my favorite character. I was sorry Mimi died, but it was more for those she left behind, than for her. We may be the only two people on earth who feel this way, but at least we’re not alone.
As others have pointed out, La Bohème is mostly about the Act I arias and duet that close out the act. Musetta’s waltz in Act II is nice, and as with any Puccini opera, there are very pretty pieces of music throughout. But the story line has never been what causes people to come watch, in which it is easily contrasted with Puccini’s masterpiece, Madama Butterfly.
The central focus of the opera is not Mimi, but, rather, the relationship between Mimi and Rodolpho. To me, the point has always been that the bohemian lifestyle they are portrayed as living is hollow. Puccini’s point is that all this frivolous gaeity and indifference to the realities of life leads inevitably to an unhappy result. Rodolpho is just as uncommitted to Mimi as he is to work or money. Mimi, by living in poor conditions, develops a terminal illness, and no one can save her because they can’t afford the proper medical care. So, while what happens to Mimi is tragic, unlike what the company whose version you saw says, it isn’t all about Mimi.
Interestingly, Leoncavallo also wrote an opera based on the same story, also called La Bohème, but focused on Marcello and Musetta. Frankly, the character development in that opera is better, but the opera never got as much attention as the one by Puccini.
It’s not “all about Mimi.” It’s all about Rodolfo and Mimi. It’s the love they have for each other that everything else revolves around. In fact I’d say it’s more about Rodolfo than Mimi. It’s *his *love for *her *that’s central to the plot.
If you ever saw Pavarotti in that role, it wasn’t even all about Rodolfo, it was all about Luciano.