La Boheme

Währinger Strasse 78

1090 Wien

 

Paris in the 19th century, Christmas Eve. While everyone is rushing out into the streets to celebrate, things look very different in a draughty attic room. Four poor artist friends live here together in a bohemian flat-share: the painter Marcello, the musician Schaunard, the philosopher Colline, and the poet Rodolfo. They dream big dreams—even though they barely have enough money to get by. But that doesn’t spoil their spirits. They are young, the world lies before them—and Paris is vast. So off to Café Momus! Only Rodolfo stays behind to finish an article. When the neighbour Mimì knocks at the door, he immediately develops feelings for her, but their delicate love is soon overshadowed by Mimì’s poverty and illness.

Puccini’s opera is one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. Emotion and heartbreak meet precisely drawn scenes of the precarious artistic life of the period, a sharp analysis of urban society caught between acceleration and isolation, and psychologically nuanced characters. In 1984, Harry Kupfer’s production of this opera was first staged at the Volksoper and has since been revived many times because of its popularity. In 2022, the Kronen Zeitung wrote that “one experiences with fascination how skillfully Kupfer worked back then, how every character is perfectly drawn,” and Der Standard recognised “timelessly great music theatre.” Now this legendary production returns.

(Source: volksoper.at)