LA BOHÈME to be Presented at Opera San José This Holiday Season

Snow will fall in San José when one of opera's greatest love stories, Puccini's La Bohème, returns to Opera San José in a production set in Paris at Christmastime, following the aftermath of the Great War. Opera San José Artist-in-Residence tenor WooYoung Yoon stars as the poet Rodolfo, with sopranos Kearstin Piper Brown and Mikayla Sager alternating as Mimì, in this tantalizing tale of young artists living on the edge. Set in bustling Parisian cafés, raucous parties, and chilly garrets, La Bohème follows the pair of doomed lovers and their coterie of artist friends chasing happiness against impossible odds. Audiences will experience this production in the beautifully gilded historic California Theatre, one of the world's most elegant and intimate opera houses. Opera San José Resident Stage Director Michelle Ainna Cuizon will make her mainstage directorial debut with Opera San José Music Director Joseph Marcheso set to conduct this masterpiece, performed in Italian with English and Spanish supertitles.

La Bohème will be presented November 16 – December 1, 2024 (performance dates/times below) at the California Theatre, 345 South First Street, San José.  For more information or to purchase tickets ($58–$215), the public can visit operasj.org or call 408-437-4450 (open Monday through Friday, 9:00am–5:00pm). 

“With a backdrop of Christmastime in Paris, this production of La Bohème will usher audiences into the holidays,” said Opera San José General Director/CEO Shawna Lucey. “Puccini's brilliant score and heart-rending arias bring to life one of opera's most exquisite works, making it a great favorite of longtime operagoers and a perfect introduction for those new to this art form.”   

Opera San José has assembled a top-flight cast featuring tenor WooYoung Yoon as Rodolfo, recently seen as the prince Tamino in OSJ's The Magic Flute. Making their company debuts are sopranos Kearstin Piper Brown and Mikayla Sager, alternating as Mimì. Baritone Kidon Choi, who made a vivid impression as Baron Scarpia in OSJ's Tosca returns as Marcello. Inaugural Wadhwani Chair soprano Melissa Sondhi will play Musetta, and bass-baritone OSJ Artist-in-Residence Jesús Vincente Murillo will play Schaunard. Three Opera San José fan favorites, bass Younggwang Park, bass-baritone Philip Skinner, and tenor Eric Mellum, featured as Sarastro, Speaker, and First Priest in The Magic Flute, return in this production as Colline, Benoît/Alcindoro, and Parpignol.  

The chorus ensemble is comprised of Leonardo Capistrano, Carter Dougherty, Danielle Imai, Julia Johnson, Brennah Kemmerly, Michael Kim, Ilhee Lee, Kyounghee Lee, Michael Jesse Kuo, Pravesh Mehra, Fallon Nunes, Alexandra Olsson-Anderson, Nathan Savant, and Jessica Williams.  

The creative team for La Bohème is Opera San José Music Director Joseph Marcheso (Conductor), Opera San José Resident Stage Director Michelle Ainna Cuizon (Director), Kim A. Tolman (Scenic Designer), Eric Watkins (Lighting Designer), Alina Bokovikova (Costume Designer), Y. Sharon Peng (Hair and Makeup Designer), and Johannes Löhner (Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master). 

“Classically Curious” night for La Bohème will be held Friday, November 22, bringing together people who have a passion for deepening their involvement with opera. This Silicon Valley professionals program was created to introduce new audiences to opera, offering access to discounted tickets, exclusive behind-the-scenes opportunities, and social and community events that connect emerging opera lovers.  More information can be found at go.operasj.org/ClassicallyCurious.  

Written by Giacomo Puccini, with a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, and based on Henri Murger's episodic novel “Scènes de la vie de bohème” (“Scenes of Bohemian Life”), La Bohème premiered at Teatro Regio in Turin, Italy, in 1896.  La Bohème features three back-to-back showstoppers in Act I alone—Rodolfo's famous aria “Che gelida manina,” followed by Mimì's “Mi chiamano Mimì,” and their duet “O soave fanciulla." Puccini's own life as a student in Milan influenced many aspects of La Bohème; some personal experiences, like pawning his coat to take out a young dancer, directly inspired moments in the libretto. The 1996 musical RENT is based on La Bohème with most of the characters and plot elements drawn from the opera.  

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