La Boheme at Göteborg Opera

A group of young friends lead a carefree, artistic life – taking each day in their stride and prioritising pleasure and self-fulfilment before food or shelter. Their possessions are few, but they’re rich in love. What does it matter if you can’t pay the rent when life is but a dance?

One fateful night Rodolfo, an unpublished poet in the gang, runs into a neighbour. He takes her hand, which is cold as ice, and she tells him her name is Mimì. A love affair begins, as simply as that. Although their love flourishes, something is wrong with Mimì which their meagre lifestyle hardly improves. Spring in Paris does not only bring life. Love does not conquer all.

Puccini’s ”La bohème” is easy to love. In four short acts, he captures the recklessness of youth, where it blossoms, wilts and dies. Hope and despair stand side-by-side.

This new interpretation by a young, British team is set in a dreary 1970’s Paris; a time and place where bohemian intellectuals, student revolts and protest marches reawakened dreams of a better, more just society. In her role as Mimì, Kerstin Avemo masterfully exhibits the delicate balance between endurance and fragility. Rodolfo is played by the incredibly gifted Thomas Atkins, one of New Zealand’s rising new stars, and conductor Karen Kamensek sets Puccini’s music free to fly as high as these young adults’ dreams.

Authors

• David Spencer
• Giacomo Puccini
• Giuseppe Giacosa
• Henri Murger
• Luigi Illica

Tony Awards and Nominations for La Boheme