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| | Arts Calendar / February 5 / Opera |
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 Opera by Giacomo Puccini. 140 min (with one intermission). Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica based on Henry Murger’s novel Scenes de la Vie de Bohème. Music Director: Wolf Gorelik. Conductors: Felix Korobov and Timur Zangiev. Sung in Italian. La Bohème is one of opera’s most popular and unforgettable stories. When young poet Rodolfo meets seamstress Mimi, it’s love at first sight. But faced by the cruel realities of poverty and ill health, will the flame that burns between them flicker and die? Or will the timeless strength of their youthful passion withstand every trial and tribulation that life can throw at them? La Bohème continued to gain international popularity throughout the early 20th century and the Opéra-Comique alone had already presented the opera one hundred times by 1903. Despite the opera's popularity with audiences, Puccini has been the target of condescension by some music critics who find his music insufficiently sophisticated or difficult. La Bohème still has become part of the standard Italian opera repertory and is one of the most frequently performed operas worldwide. "If there were such a thing as an Oscar for Opera, this production would win it hands down". Corinne Dunne (Naples Daily News). "Narrow streets of the Latin quarter, attics and bars, poor and merry students, colourfully dressed girls from café-chantants and fireworks of cracking jokes. And love, of course…" Svetlana Savenko (Literaturnaya gazeta).
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theater  |
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