La bohème: Study Guide by Boston Lyric Opera

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Boston Lyric Opera inspires, entertains, and connects communities through compelling performances, programs, and gatherings. Our vision is to create operatic moments that enrich everyday life. This Study Guide is one way in which we fulfill this mission. As we continue to develop additional Study Guides, we want your feedback. Please tell us about how you use this guide and how it can best serve your needs by emailing education@blo.org.

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Opera is an art form that can contain big, difficult emotions. The experience of seeing and hearing live, professional opera is second to none, and we encourage you to explore the world of the opera outside the theater as well. We are proud to offer this Study Guide to support your discussions and preparations for La bohème. Please note that this Study Guide describes plot details. Our intent is to provide support in historical as well as contemporary context, along with tools to thoughtfully reflect on the opera before or after you watch it.

Ann S. Kirk, M.Ed. Director of Community and Learning

September 2022

RebeccaSincerely,

If you’re interested in engaging with us further and learning about additional opera education opportunities with Boston Lyric Opera, please visit blo.org/education to discover our programs and initiatives. See you at the opera!

Dear Students, Educators, and Life-Long-Learners, Boston Lyric Opera is pleased to welcome you to the Emerson Colonial Theatre as we present Giacomo Puccini’s classic La bohème, like you’ve never seen it before—in reverse. How does a group of young artists go from tragedy to hope? From death to life? From loneliness to love? From finish to start, from death to the promise of new love, from loneliness and despair to the joy of friendships, wine, and song, this reversal presents the characters and arias in a refreshing, new vision of the story.

TABLE OF CONTENTS LA BOHÈME SYNOPSIS 4 LA BOHÈME CHARACTERS 8 LA BOHÈME THE COMPOSER 9 REALISM, VERISIMO, & LA VIE QUOTIDIENNE 12 LA VIE BOHÈME 14 CONSUMPTION 16 A STORY TOLD IN REVERSE 17 RENT! 18 STARVING ARTIST 20 DON’T BE SO DRAMATIC 21 LISTEN UP! LA BOHÈME RESOURCES THE HISTORY OF OPERA THE SCIENCE AND ART OF OPERA NOTES TO PREPARE FOR THE OPERA

Poster for the 1896 production of Puccini’s La Bohème. By Adolf Hohenstein (1854-1928), published by G. Ricordi & Co.

LA STUDYBOHÈMEGUIDE

BySYNOPSISAllisonChu

La bohème follows the story of a group of friends and young lovers. On a fateful evening, romantic writer Rodolfo meets the seamstress Mimì. Painter Marcello falls in love and chases after Musetta, a singer. The ensemble is completed by Schaunard, a musician, and Colline, a philosopher. In this retelling of La bohème, directed by Yuval Sharon, the original acts are presented in reverse order.

La Bohème Act II set. By Adolf Hohenstein (1854-1928)

La bohème

Death:

Paris, May 1850. Unable to concentrate, Rodolfo and Marcello struggle at their respective crafts in their small shared apartment. Each man’s mind is distracted, and they gossip of news of their love interests. Schaunard and Colline arrive with a paltry dinner to share. The four friends imagine

themselves in a royal court, savoring a fine meal. Eventually, the revelry leads to a duel between Schaunard and Colline. The men are interrupted by Musetta with a very ill Mimì in tow. Musetta explains that she happened upon Mimì outside the garret, who wanted to be with her love, Rodolfo. Sending Marcello off for a doctor, Musetta leaves to retrieve Mimì’s muff. Alone, the lovers, Mimì and

and Marcello begin arguing. At long last, Rodolfo and Mimì persuade each other to remain together until spring, while Marcello and Musetta break off their liaison.

Momus:

Rodolfo recount the story of how they met and their shared fond memories. When everyone returns, the friends give Mimì her muff to warm her hands, and Musetta sings a prayer. However, their efforts are in vain: Mimì dies, and Rodolfo is overcome by his grief.

Two months earlier. It is Christmas Eve in the Latin Quarter. Rodolfo and Mimì shop for gifts while Colline, Schaunard, and Marcello order a feast. The lovers eventually join the others at Café Momus, and Rodolfo introduces Mimì to the rest of the group. Musetta arrives with her new suitor, Alcindoro, but ostentatiously flirts with Marcello, her former lover. She pretends to suffer from a painful shoe. While Alcindoro runs off to have the shoe mended, Musetta embraces Marcello shamelessly. The bill comes, and the

Three months earlier. At the toll gate, peddlers and peasants pass into the city. Mimì, audibly ill with a terrible cough, asks the sergeant where she can find Marcello. She finds him outside the tavern and bemoans her relationship woes: Rodolfo’s jealousy has eroded their love. Rodolfo emerges from the tavern, and Mimì hides. She overhears Rodolfo tell Marcello that his jealousy is merely a front. At first, he claims that Mimì is a terrible flirt, but he soon reveals that he is concerned about Mimì’s health, since his poor living conditions will do little to help her recuperate. To give Mimì the best chance at recovery, he has decided to end their relationship. The combination of Mimì weeping and coughing reveals her presence. Marcello leaves them to speak and to pursue Musetta’s laughter ringing out from the tavern. As Rodolfo and Mimì discuss their relationship, Musetta

SYNOPSIS

Barrière:

Our artists dine at Café Momus. Photo by William Struhs, courtesy of Spoleto Festival USA.

Mimì’s costume for Act I of La Bohème for the premiere performance, Torino, 1 February1893. By Adolf Hohenstein (1854-1928) (Archivio Ricordi Milano)

Love:

party is pained to realize how much they owe. Musetta asks the waiter to add it to her bill. The party rushes off to admire a parading military band, leaving Alcindoro to pay for their meal

SYNOPSIS

Allison Chu is a Ph.D. candidate in Music History at Yale University. Her research focuses on the intersection of identity and opera in the twenty-first century.

Mimi (played by Lauren Michelle) and Rodolfo (played by Matthew White) falling in love. Photo by Leigh Webber, courtesy of Spoleto Festival USA.

Earlier on Christmas Eve. Marcello and Rodolfo struggle to keep warm in their sparse apartment they share with Colline and Schaunard. Rodolfo decides to burn his latest manuscript as fuel for the stove. Colline returns home, angry that he is unable to pawn his books. Just then, Schaunard arrives with food, wine, and wood for the stove. He shares that he was recently hired by an Englishman to

perform for his parrot. The friends decide to celebrate at Café Momus, but Rodolfo stays behind to finish writing his article. A little while later, there’s a knock at the door: it’s Mimì, who also lives in the building and has come to ask for a light for her candle. Once inside, she faints, dropping her key. Rodolfo revives Mimì with a splash of water, offers her some wine, and lights her candle. As the two search for her key, both Mimì and Rodolfo’s candles are extinguished. Rodolfo finds her key and pockets it, buying him some time to flirt with her. He grabs her hand, noticing how cold it is, and the two fall in love. Their exchange is interrupted by Rodolfo’s friends, who shout from the courtyard below. Mimì asks to come along, and they leave together, basking in their new blossoming love.

CHARACTERS

a poet who lives with three friends. He falls in love-at-firstsight with Mimì.

Benoît, bass the landlord who owns the building.

The Wanderer on Christmas Eve. The Wanderer is a new character, specific to this production. Photo by William Struhs, courtesy of Spoleto Festival USA.

Mimì, soprano a girl who sells flowers, and is very ill with consumption (tuberculosis).

Colline, bass a philosopher who lives with Rodolfo.

Marcello, baritone a painter who lives with Rodolfo. He’s still in love with his exgirlfriend Musetta.

Schaunard, baritone a musician who lives with Rodolfo.

Alcindoro, bass a wealthy older gentleman who is one of Musetta’s many admirers.

Parpignol, tenor a toy vendor.

The Wanderer, actor An observer and narrator (specific to this production)

Musetta, soprano a singer and Marcello’s ex-girlfriend.

Rodolfo, tenor

showed early interest and a talent for music, he was a terrible student and had trouble concentrating on anything that didn’t hold his interest, preferring instead to play pranks and flirt with girls. As a student, Puccini lived a poor bohemian life, sharing lodging with fellow classmate composer, Pietro

Giacomo Puccini

THE COMPOSER

was born into a very well-established local family of musicians in the Tuscany region. His great-great grandfather was the music director at the local cathedral—a post passed down from father to son for 124 years! It was therefore not only expected but assumed that young Giacomo would study music and one-day take over his father’s position, but his father passed away suddenly when he was only six. He remained very close to his mother, corresponding and visiting her frequently until her death.Hisuncles ensured he still attended to his music studies, sending him to study at the thoughcomposition.hiswhereConservatoryMilanhebegancareerinEvenPuccini

Giacomo Puccini, ca. 1907. Photo by Frank C. Bangs.

Puccini in April 1908. Photo by A. Dupont.

Puccini’s first opera was Le Villi (1884). It was entered into a competition, yet his roommate, Mascagni won that year for his opera Cavalleria

Puccini’s classmate and peer, Pietro Mascagni, composer of Cavalleria Rusticana.

Mascagni. He often had to scrounge and thrift to make ends meet and was even once forced to sell his own coat to pay his rent. While he was a student, Puccini saw Verdi’s opera Aida, and later Bizet’s Carmen— two operas attributed to influencing his own operatic style, and even inspiring him to compose opera.

Puccini was inspired by the verismo style of opera, bringing everyday dramas and realistic situations to the opera stage. La bohème, his fourth opera, was based on the French book, Scènes de la vie de bohème, (1851) by Henri Murger, and greatly inspired by his time as a student in Milan. It was set in the Latin Quarter in Paris 1840s and is comprised of four acts. Like the book, these acts are almost vignettes rather than scenes with complicated plot lines. Puccini even referred to them as quattro quadri, or

Verismo is an Italian word meaning realistic, or true. Composers were rebelling against the style that was popular that we now refer to as the Romantic era. They were not interested in composing music about mythical gods, or fairy tales, but rather the stories of ordinary people. Characters were completely consumed by overwhelmingly raw emotions—tales of lust, jealousy, and murderous revenge were realistically presented, and the music was appropriately violent and impassioned to match. COMPOSEREngravingofHenriMurger,1854byGranger. Commons.

THE

Wikimedia

set him out to be the next greatest opera composer after Verdi, but it was when he also met and began a collaboration with two librettists, Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, who would continue to work with him on several more operas.

Rusticana. In spite of not winning the competition, it was well-received by critics and caught the attention of the influential Ricordi publishing company, who assisted with the premiere by printing the libretto without charge. His third opera, Manon Lascaut (1893) was not only an uncontested triumph, and

States. Puccini’s attachment to the work was demonstrated in that he continued to adjust the score for the two decades following. La Bohème continues to be one of the top five operas performed today, and it was adapted into a Broadway Musical, RENT in 1996 by Johnathan Larson.

DISCUSS: If you are retelling an old story, like Shakespeare for instance, how do you determine the balance between honoring tradition and history, and making sure today’s audiences can connect to it?

Contemporary Rivals Composer Ruggero Leoncavallo, most famous today for Paggliaci, was writing an opera adaptation of Henri Murger’s novel La bohème, at the same time as Puccini and engaged him in a public dispute. Leoncavallo requested he have priority to complete his work since he started first, but Puccini said he had no knowledge of this, and since the novel was public domain, each should continue with their own versions. Puccini’s premiered first, and his is the one that has survived time.

an 1849 realist painter by Rosa Bonheur. II. Public Domain, image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

“The Stone Breakers” by Gustave Courbet’s, one of the leading realist painters (1849). This painting, as well as 150 other works of art, was destroyed in transit during World War II. Public Domain, image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

In music, and opera specifically, this style is known as verismo. While Giuseppe Verdi’s later work including La Traviata (1853), can be

Along with the French Revolution came much social and cultural upheaval in the late nineteenth century. Artists of all disciplines were rejecting the Romanticism—artistic styles that were taught in school. In literature, writers would incorporate new scientific truths into fictional narratives, while painters took to the outdoors to capture the accuracy of shade and color as seen in natural sunlight. Certainly, this more “true” or real portrayal in the arts varied slightly from disciplines and countries, but, broadly, artists sought to depict authentic images, emotions, and stories. In addition, emphasis was now put on quotidian or “every day” people, stories, and struggles. Far from portrayals of royalty, aristocracy, or even the supernatural, artists— painters, writers, and composers alike—wanted to explore the human story.

considered the beginnings of Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, which premiered in 1890, is now considered to be the first true verismo opera. Stylistically, composers wrote music that served the emotional drama of the story, abandoning the formulaic Italian structure of distinct arias set apart by recitative and punctuated by applause, favoring instead a through-composed work that flowed with the dramatic tension in the story. Puccini is considered the most prominent verismo composer, although there were many others, some of whose operas are still often performed

Althoughtoday.

some musicologists call Puccini’s La bohème (1896) his first true foray into the verismo style, many others argue that Tosca (1900) was actually his first verismo opera. Yet, perhaps what defines Tosca from La bohème more precisely

REALISM, VERISMO, & LA VIE QUOTIDIENNE“PloughingintheNivernais”is

DISCUSS: Puccini liked to tell stories set in cultures that were not his own, and today his work is often seen as cultural appropriation. What is the difference between being inspired by another culture that is not your own and borrowing or imitating it?

Madama Butterfly opera poster (1914) designed by Adolf Hohenstein in the Italian Art Nouveau style.

While La bohème and Tosca were musical masterpieces, Puccini’s later operas including Madame Butterfly (1904), La fanciulla del West (1910), and Turandot (1926) explored characters and themes from cultures and countries very different from his own — cultures he had little personal experience in. While today many consider these operas to be cultural appropriation (and rightly so), we can also see that Puccini was telling human stories—ones that showed the audiences of his day the emotional complexity we all share and the ability of music to bridge some of our differences.

Puccini’s life and work bridged the 19th and 20th centuries. Musically he was influenced by what we now know as the Romantic Era and is certainly included among the great composers who are attributed to The Golden Age of Opera (defined largely by verismo). And yet, he lived on the edge between one age and the next. Puccini revered great composers like Verdi and Wagner and was also fascinated by how music was being influenced by other cultures and new technologies. He participated in the latest recording technology, composing music that would fit on wax cylinders. He watched as the medium of film was born and exploded into culture, first silent, then with sound, but always with musical accompaniment.

, Puccini begins to define his own orchestral voice within the style. If La bohème reflects Verdi’s influence on Puccini, then it is that he pushes himself further.

White Christmas One scene in La bohème describes Paris covered in a blanket of snow on a cold Christmas Eve night. However, Paris has an oceanic climate causing mild temperatures yearround and rain is much more common than snow. Why the vicious weather, then? Because Puccini never visited Paris in the winter. He likely set the opera in the depths of winter to heighten the drama.

Two artists, Marcello (played by Edward Parks) and Rodolfo (played by Matthew White), sharing space and rent. Photo by Vesna Zdravkoski, courtesy of Detroit Opera.

LA VIE BOHÈME

The bohemian class emerged in France in the 19th-century in contrast to its wellestablished “old money” bourgeoisie (also known as the middle class). While the French bourgeoisie had a strict morality and nationalistic fidelity, the younger generation rejected their parents’ patriotic and economic priorities. The bohemian believed in the Romantic ideal of artistic genius but had to rely on the marketplace to sell their creations and earn a living, as opposed to the older model of wealthy aristocratic patronage that could support their artistic ideals. Bohemians were rebellious, flamboyant, loud, and seemingly shameless, often blurring the line between private and public life. Parisian bohemians were inspired in their fashion by Gothic novels, fashionable romances, and romantic dramas.

Puccini’s opera and Murger’s book captured a very particular and fleeting period in Parisian history. Puccini set his

bohème in the 1830s, and at that time, the city was experiencing an influx of people from the countryside and other towns in search of jobs. With a population growth of 40% in the last three decades, Paris was strained beyond its infrastructure. Only 20% of its buildings were connected to a water supply, and many tenants shared bathrooms, which were emptied every night by 2,300 night-soil carts. Cramped quarters and tight architecture were conducive to frequent interactions, spurring both creative and emotional connections.

To escape poverty and claustrophobic living conditions, many working-class women turned to prostitution, either walking the streets or working at one of the city’s nearly 200 registered brothels. A poor, bohemian artist like Rudolfo was in no position to be a suitable breadwinner, as he was barely paying for his own meals. Puccini even added specific moments from his own experience as a poor student in Milan, even though the opera is set in Paris.

The neighborhood where La bohème is set is a real neighborhood of Paris. The Latin Quarter, in the First Arrondissment, is on the left bank of the Seine River near La Sorbonne (the University). To this day, the neighborhood is filled with students and young people, and is known for its cafés and lively atmosphere. In fact, Café Momus was a real café that was a regular

Café Momus can been seen in the right corner of Henri Lévis’s 1849 painting, “No. 22. Watercolour.”

Beginning in the mid-19th century, Parisian coffeehouses became gathering places for bohemians, and among them, composers, painters, writers, performers, and philosophers who would spend their time socializing and sharing ideas—often to escape their unheated, dark, cramped

“At the Café” 1878 by Édouard Manet

gathering place for artists. Henri Murger writes about it in his novel from charactersbasedexperience,personalandevensomeofthein

The Latin Quarter is roughly marked in red on this 1840 map of Paris courtesy of the Gallica Digital Library.

Scènes de la vie de bohème on his friends. Momus was known for its inexpensive coffee, as well as billiards.newspapersforeignandThecafé went bankrupt and closed in 1856, and the building was later demolished to make way for expansion of the Place du Louvre. In fact, by the 1860s many of the quaint, bohemian haunts had been rezoned and bulldozed by Paris officials to make way for new buildings to accommodate the growing population. Although the life of the Parisian bohème continued, plus ça change.

CONSUMPTIONThe“fataldisease”thatMimìhasisunderstoodtobetuberculosis.Itwasknownasconsumptionbecauseofthefrequentandrapidweight-lossitcaused.Tuberculosis(TB)hasbeenahumaninfectiousdiseasesinceantiquity.Itiscausedbyabacterialinfectionthatcanoccurinanypartofthebodybutismostcommoninthelungs.Symptomsincludeachroniccough,bloodymucus,fever,nightsweats,andchills.Itspreadseasilythroughtheair,similartoCOVID-19,althoughthelatteriscausedbyavirusratherthanabacterium.Duringthe18thand19thcenturies,tuberculosiswasepidemicinEuropeandtheUnitedStatescausingmillionsofdeaths,particularlyintheurbanpoorduetotheircloseproximityoflivingquartersandlackofventilation.Itwasalsowidelyassociatedwithartistsduringthattime,andoftenromanticized,perhapsbecauseofartists’frequentdepictionofthedisease.Manyartistswerepoor,andeithercontractedtuberculosisthemselves,orknewpeopleintheirsocialcircleswhosufferedfromit.

Mimi (played by Lauren Michelle) and Rodolfo’s (played by Matthew White) last moment before her death. Photo by William Struhs, courtesy of Spoleto Festival USA.

By the 1950s tuberculosis was less common due to advances not only in medicine, but also in sanitation and ventilation. Today it is most often a risk to people who have HIV/ AIDS and chronic smokers; and is prevented by a vaccine and treated using antibiotics. Yet it remains the second leading cause of death from infectious disease today after COVID-19.

In fact, it was a common belief that contracting TB actually assisted in artistic talent due to its symptoms being said to cause clarity of mind and decisiveness.

A STORY TOLD IN REVERSE A STORY TOLD IN REVERSE

devices to build tension and emotional suspense.

been used as early as the 1st century BC, and there are many instances of this storytelling method in contemporary popular media. In Sondheim’sStephenmusical,

and the two perspectives are interwoven Televisiontogether.

DISCUSS: Can you think of other instances in which reverse chronology is an effective way to tell a story? What if you used a very familiar story and retold it in this way? How would it change how the story is interpreted?

Original Broadway poster for Merrily We Roll Along Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Memento and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, both told in reverse, othermemory,flashbacks,useandcinematic

Orange is the New Black actors Adrienne C. Moore, Selenis Leyva, Natasha Lyonne, Dascha Polanco, and Danielle Brooks at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards in 2014. Photo courtesy of the Peabody Awards.

This method of storytelling can highlight themes from a work that might otherwise be lost if the story was to be told conventionally. In the instance of this production of La bohème, director Yuval Sharon says, “the emphasis will not be on this inevitable path towards death and loss but will be about what made their lives worth it in the first place, which was love and hope and joy.” This way, the emphasis of the story is slightly shifted to give audiences a new perspective.

Merrily We Roll Along, the story begins with three friends at their lowest point and gradually moves backwards to show the friends twenty years earlier, at their most hopeful. The Last Five Years, another musical by Jason Robert Brown, tells the story of a romantic relationship from two perspectives. For one partner, the story is told chronologically forward while for the other, it’s told in reverse,

Reverse chronology is a storytelling style where the plot is told backwards. The story starts at the end (or sometimes the middle) and then fills in the events that led to that ending. Sometimes storytellers use flashbacks as an artistic device to achieve this, but sometimes it’s more literal, with the last scene being followed by the penultimate scene, all the way until the first chronological scene is played out as the last in a Reversestory.chronology has

shows like Orange is the New Black and Lost begin in the middle of the plot and use flashbacks to inform viewers of the Moviesbackstories.characters’like

DISCUSS: and what

The poster for original Broadway performance of RENT.

In 1994, music theater composer Jonathan Larson transplanted the characters, plot, and concepts from Puccini’s 1896 opera, La Bohème , which was set in the 1840s Paris, to over a century forward in time: New York City in 1989. In 1996, the musical RENT producedMenzel.TayeAdamAnthonycast,originalactorsseveralinmotionmadeMusical.AwardandPrizewontoeventuallyThethetheaorticawaysuddenlySadly,Off-Broadway.premieredLarsonpassedduetoandissectionnightbeforepremiere.musicalmovedBroadwayandthePulitzerfordramatheTonyforBestItwasintoamajorpicture2005,starringofthefromtheBroadwayincludingRapp,Pascal,Diggs,andIdinaIn2019,Fox

Both the opera and the musical tell the story of the daily life of a group of artists, who are also friends facing poverty, disease.insecurity,housingand La Bohème and RENT not only draw inspiration from their garneredthattheseinisexperiences.theirfriendsthebutMurger’smaterial—Henrisourcenovel,alsofromcomposers’andownlivedItthishonestythewritingofcharactershasboth

The original Broadway cast of RENT.

La Bohème and RENT awards and impacts.standingleavingenduringaccolades,andlong-cultural

RENT!

Johnathan Larson’s life was dramatized in the movie musical released in 2021, Tick, Tick…BOOM! directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and based on a andpersonality,morebroadenedwrotethatworksemi-autobiographicalofthesamenameJohnathanLarsonin1990butwastoincludeaspectsofLarson’schallenges,successes. would

Jonathan Larson in front of a Poster for his musical RENT (1996). Library of Congress.

RENT: Live , starring Jordan Fisher, Tinashe, Valentina, and Hudgens.Vanessa

La Bohème – Characters

Mark Cohen, a filmmaker Schaunard, a musician

Musetta, a singer

RENT begins and ends on Christmas Eve.

RENT – Plot

Alcindoro, a state councillor

Roger Davis, a musician

La Bohème begins on Christmas Eve.

RENT – Characters

Right up until the moment of Mimì’s death, her friends are desperately trying to come up with the money needed to buy her medicine. Colline even sells his beloved coat.

Similarly, when Mimi seems to be at the end of her life, Mark says, “We can buy some wood and something to eat.” The melody line of “Musetta’s Waltz” is then played on electric guitar (a musical motive that happens several times throughout the musical).

Benjamin “Benny” Coffin III, a landlord

Angel Dumott Schunard, a street drummer and drag queen

Mimi also knocks on Roger’s door looking for a light for her candle, except this Mimi is an exotic dancer and drug addict. She also says that she is called Mimi, but at the end of her song.

Mimì, a flower seller or a seamstress

Schaunard is a musician, and in Act I, he appears with a story of being hired by a wealthy Englishman to play until the Englishman’s parrot dies.

Maureen Johnson, a performance artist

Tom Collins, an anarchist professor

When Angel and Collins arrive at the apartment, Angel, a street drummer, tells a story about how she was hired by a wealthy woman to drum until her neighbor’s yappy dog jumps out the window. We learn later that the neighbor turns out to be Benny.

Colline, a philosopher

La Bohème – Plot

Mark’s girlfriend, Maureen, leaves him for a lawyer named Joanne. During a duet between Mark and Joanne, the two bond over their shared worry about Maureen’s flirtatious behavior. In a later duet between Maureen and Joanne, Maureen also sings about how “everybody stares” at her.

Mimi Márquez, an exotic dancer

Rodolfo wants to break up with Mimì because he thinks that their living in poverty is making her even more sick.

DISCUSS: If you were to set Henri Murger’s novel in present-day, what would be similar would be different? How might the music sound?

Benoît, a landlord

Rodolfo, a poet

Mimì knocks on Rodolfo’s door during Act I seeking a light for her candle. She drops her key, and Rodolfo pockets it so she will stay longer. He takes her hand, sings of how cold it is. Her aria opens with the words, “They call me Mimì.” They fall in love.

Marcello and Musetta are constantly fighting and reuniting. Musetta picks up a rich, pompous, temporary boyfriend named Alcindoro in Act II. She sings about how men find her irresistible in the flirtatious “Musetta’s Waltz.”

Joanne Jefferson, a lawyer

Roger begins to worry about Mimi’s increased drug use. He plans to move to Santa Fe as an escape

Marcello, a painter

discourage up and coming artists from pursuing their careers out of fear, and it perpetuates an unhealthy connection between suffering and artistic talent. In its worst form, the “starving artist” trope encourages the exploitation of artists by creating a scarcity mindset around opportunities and demand for art, that leads to the false perception of the lack of value to the artistic work, while at the same time putting “Art” on a pedestal, in which if the artist is “discovered” by a wealthy benefactor, they will be “saved” and made famous.

Bohème (1910) by Dutch artist Leo Gestel

DISCUSS: In what ways can we shift the perception and value of artists in our society and economy?

The Starving Artist is a literary trope that describes a talented but financially destitute artist of any genre who often faces struggles between wanting to fulfil their life’s purpose and being unable to sustain a livelihood while creating. Many times, these characters are the protagonists, and often the poverty they face is romanticized. In starving artist tragedies, the characters’ poverty often leads to an early death.

STARVING ARTIST

DISCUSS: What are the different story today in tv shows, film, music videos,

Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale was adapted into a TV Show that premiered in 2017.

Angie Thomas’s 2017 young adult novel was adapted into a film starring Amandla Stenberg in 2018

The artist.towhatperceptionanittropeStarvingwithchallengeTheArtististhatreinforcesunrealisticofitmeansbeaworkingItcan

Marcello (played by Edward Parks) searching for inspiration! Photo by Vesna Zdravkoski, courtesy of Detroit Opera.

Admit it, you love good drama, we all love good drama, especially when we are completely pulled in through masterful musical storytelling. So the next time you come to the opera, or go to a movie theater, or stream Netflix, notice what is it about the drama that keeps you watching, pulls you in, and gives you cathartic release when it ends. It just might have a little something to do with the music.

follow the story perfectly fine. This is what opera does best— tells the story, the emotion, and the drama through music. The orchestra score, in addition to the melodic lines of the singers, are critical to drawing us into the world of the story and making us care about the characters. We can feel how the main character feels, we know when something is about to happen even if the characters don’t, and we exhale when the music resolves knowing things have come to an end— for better or worse.

So why do we still love an opera that was written well over 100 years ago?

led to several selections of his operas being used in films. Selections from La bohème were used in the film Moonstruck (1987) and many of Puccini’s other opera scores can be found in famous films including Room with a View (1985), Fatal Attraction (1987), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Quantum of Solace (2008), and Mission: Impossible –Rogue Nation (2015).

Yes, opera holds a longstanding stereotype of heightened drama brought to the extreme where everyone dies (and sings on their deathbed). But wait a minute! Isn’t this just an attribute of good storytelling? Think about the stories (not just in opera) that have withstood the test of time that we tell, retell, and update over and over again. (Shakespeare anyone?) Most often operas are actually adaptations of previously written works. And this is still true today! What is the most recent drama you consumed? The Hate U Give? The Handmaid’s Tale? These are based on novels and brought to life on screen. Authors, playwrights, storytellers alike heighten the stakes, add shock value, twists, and surprises in order to draw audiences in and keep our attention.

Listen to the version of “Musetta’s Waltz” orchestrated for the film Moonstruck. ways that music helps to tell a even

videos,

live performances?

DON’T BE SO DRAMATIC

So yes, opera is dramatic, but why does that reputation need to be so eye-rolling?

But what is it about opera that makes us think Drama with-acapital-D? Imagine watching Star Wars or Lord of the Rings on mute with closed captions. It may not completely captivate you in quite the same way although you could

It turns out that Puccini, with his verismo style of composition, was pretty good at creating a heightened emotional landscape of sound. He was meticulous at conveying authentic human emotion through his music, emotions that still pull at our heartstrings or make our heart stop. In fact, the scoresPuccini’squalitiescinematictohave

different

“Don’t You Know”

“Quando m’en vo”

“Your Eyes”

Throughout RENT, Mark references Roger’s struggle to “write a bittersweet, evocative song...that doesn’t remind us of ‘Musetta’s Waltz.’” The familiar chords from “Quando me’n vo” are played throughout RENT, but most noticeably in the penultimate song, “Your Eyes.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dJJLOCLZwg

LISTEN UP!

The four friends and Mimì are having a joyous celebration at the Café Momus, when suddenly Marcello’s ex-girlfriend, Musetta, comes in on the arm of a wealthy older man. To make Marcello jealous (and because she loves attention), Musetta sings this flirtatious song, often known as “Musetta’s Waltz.” https:// youtu.be/2ouWV7aQTGM

Musetta has just brought the desperately ill Mimì back to the garret apartment, and all of the friends are rallying to try to save her. They have no money for food or medicine, so Colline decides to sell his beloved coat. Before he does, he sings this aria as a good-bye. https://youtu.be/SKu2G9bDpek

“O soave fanciulla”

“Vecchia zimarra”

This duet comes at the end of Act I in the original opera, after Mimì and Rodolfo have introduced themselves to one another and searched for Mimì’s key. Rodolfo sees Mimì in the moonlight, and the two realize that they are in love. https://youtu.be/-Dtouh3p0qc

In 1959, Bobby Worth used “Quando me’n vo” as inspiration for this Della Reese pop song. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=SofzRyx5FP8

} How fast is the music? Are there sudden changes in speed? Is the rhythm steady or unsteady?

} Key/Mode: Is it major or minor? (Does it sound bright, happy, sad, urgent, dangerous?)

} What is the shape of the melodic line? Does the voice move smoothly or does it make frequent or erratic jumps? Do the vocal lines move noticeably downward or upward?

} Does the type of voice singing (baritone, soprano, tenor, mezzo, etc.) have an effect on you as a listener?

} How does the music make you feel? What effect do the above factors have on you as a listener?

} What type of character fits this music? Romantic? Comic? Serious? Etc.

} What kinds of images, settings, or emotions come to mind? Does it remind you of anything you have experienced in your own life?

GENERAL QUESTIONS TO GUIDE YOUR LISTENING

} What is the orchestra doing in contrast to the voice? How do they interact?

} Dynamics/Volume: Is the music loud or soft? Are there sudden changes in volume (either in the voice or orchestra)?

} Do the melodies end as you would expect or do they surprise you?

} Do particularly emphatic notes (low, high, held, etc.) correspond to dramatic moments?

} What instruments do you hear?

Calgary Opera: +La+Boheme+2019_20+FINAL.pdf5de953d62fe4683bc4a4231a/1575572447223/Study+Guide+-https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d38c9a3e268110001e14850/t/

Vancouver Opera: https://issuu.com/yvropera/docs/la-boheme-studyguide

Canadian Opera Company: https://issuu.com/canadianopera/docs/boheme_studyguide_1314_v4 Florida Grand Opera: https://fgo.org/education/downloads/StudyGuide_LaBoheme.pdf

LA BOHÈME RESOURCES

Other Study Guides

Lyric Opera of Kansas City: Guide-by-Stu-Lewis.pdfhttps://kcopera.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/La-boheme-In-DepthManitoba Opera: pdfhttps://mbopera.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/La-Boheme-Study-Guide.

The Metropolitan Opera: guides/boheme-la/laboheme.13-14.guide.pdfhttps://www.metopera.org/globalassets/discover/education/educatorMinnesota Opera: Guide.pdfhttps://mnopera.org/wp-content/uploads/OLD/transfer/ed/Boheme%20

Pittsburg Opera: https://www.pittsburghopera.org/uploads/Study_Guide_for_La_boheme.pdf Portland Opera: guide-portland-operahttps://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/25442276/la-boheme-studyRimrock Opera Company: https://rimrockoperafoundation.org/PDF/Boheme_Study_Guide.pdf

The Composer Chronicles: Ep. 73: La vie de bohème - Puccini and La bohème https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xODA5M2VkYy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/ZTNkN2JiZGItODkyMC00MDg4LWE4NjktNzRkOGM1Mzc2ZmIy

Detroit Opera: OperaHERE Podcast: La bohème by Detroit Opera (soundcloud.com)

Podcasts

Arizona Opera Podcast: La Bohème https://podcasts.google.com dGFnOnNvdW5kY2xvdWQsMjAxMDp0cmFja3MvNzQ2NzMxNzE3EwODUzODY3OS9zb3VuZHMucnNz/episode/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zb3VuZGNsb3VkLmNvbS91c2Vycy9zb3VuZGNsb3VkOnVzZXJzOj/feed/

Seattle Opera Podcast. La Bohème 101 id1445932842?i=1000536170232https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/la-boh%C3%A8me-101/

Videos

L.A. Opera Podcast: Why La Bohème is a Perennial https://www.laopera.org/discover/podcasts/why-la-boheme-is-a-perennial/ Portland Ovations: “La Bohème” Study Guide : Portland Ovations : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Opera in Brief: La Bohème. YouTube, The Dallas Opera, 16 Oct. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=295D5NDjA70.

San Diego Opera Podcast. La Bohème: The Perfect Opera id179489015?i=1000318883023https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/la-boheme-the-perfect-opera/

Recordings

“La Bohème - a Complete Guide. the Story, the Good, the Bad.”

“La bohème.”

“Café Momus.”

LA BOHÈME RESOURCES

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 07 Aug. 2020. Web.

“La Bohème Study Guide 2007.” Boston Lyric Opera. Self-published. 2007.

Spotify playlist of La Bohème: source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=openhttps://play.spotify.com/album/54MXZ7pIuoJIAIW6H28R3x?play=true&utm_

CD Recording available on Amazon: 1&keywords=la+boheme+beechamB000N2G1IA/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1439219403&sr=1-http://www.amazon.com/Boheme-Victoria-los-Angeles/dp/

Gomis, M. and Sanchez, B. “Music and Infectious Disease.” Wiley Online Library. Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 24 December http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1469-0691.2000.00146.x/pdf.2001.

Articles

Berger, William. Puccini Without Excuses. New York: Vintage Books, 2005. Print.

“Giacomo Puccini.”

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 24 Aug. 2015. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

SimpleOpera, 30 July 2022, https://simpleopera.com/la-boheme/.

Free E-Book of Henri Murger’s Scenes de la vie de bohème from Project Gutenberg https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18446:

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 16 Aug. 2015. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

Emerg Infect Dis. Web. Nov 2002. http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/ article/8/11/02-0549

Morens, David M. “At the Deathbed of Consumptive Art” [another dimension].

Rashid, Mastan. “Opinion: Starving Artist Trope Has to End.” The Breeze, James Madison University, 13 May 2021, internship%20prior%20to%20making%20a%20livable%20wage.trope%20invalidates%20and%20discourages%20those,unpaid%20b1d5-11eb-8a2d-abb99f42096b.html#:~:text=The%20starving%20artist%20org/opinion/opinion-starving-artist-trope-has-to-end/article_b20184ee-https://www.breezejmu. “Reverse chronology.”

Spencer, Mel. “Puccini’s La Bohème: A Beginner’s Guide.” Classic FM, 24 Nov. 2014, beginners-guide/https://www.classicfm.com/composers/puccini/guides/puccinis-la-boheme-

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 27 June 2022. Web.

Romanska , Magda. “‘The Historical Context of La Bohème’ .” CODA, 2 Oct. 2015, pp. 15–16. https://issuu.com/bostonlyricopera/docs/blo_codamag_web/15Web.

Full Piano Vocal Score

Puccini, Giacomo, composer. La Bohème Translated by Grist, W. and Pinkerton, P. William and Gayle Cook Music Library Indiana University School of https://dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/bhq3853/large/index.htmlMusic,

People have been telling stories through music for millennia throughout the world. Opera is an art form with roots in Western Europe that is over 400 years old. Here is a brief timeline of its lineage.

1500RENAISSANCE 1600-1750 1730-1820 BAROQUE CLASSICAL

The History of Opera

29 1790-1910 201900thCENTURY ROMANTIC

The Florentine Camerata was founded in Italy, devoted to reviving ancient Greek musical traditions, including sung drama.

Toccata from L’Orfeo. Claudio Monteverdi Favola in musica. Reprint of the First Edition of the Score, Venice 1609 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1573RENAISSANCE

1598 Jacopo Peri, a member of the Camerata, composed the world’s first opera – Dafne, reviving the classic myth.

1607 Claudio Monteverdi i, (1567-1643) wrote the first opera to become popular, Orfeo, making him as the premier opera composer of his day and bridging the gap between Renaissance and Baroque music. His works are still performed today.

BAROQUE (1600-1750)

1712 George Frederic Handel (1685-1759), a German-born composer, moved to London, where he found immense success writing intricate and highly ornamented Italian opera seria (serious opera). Ornamentation refers to stylized, fast-moving notes, usually improvised by the singer to make a musical line more interesting and to showcase their vocal talent.

1689 Henry Purcell’s 1659-1695) simple and elegant chamber opera, Dido and Aeneas, premiered at Josias Priest’s boarding school for girls in London.

1637 The first public opera house, Teatro San Cassiano, was built in Venice, Italy.

1673 Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) an Italian-born composer, brought opera to the French court, creating a unique style, tragédie en musique, that better suited the French language. Blurring the lines between recitative and aria, he created fast-paced dramas to suit the tastes of French aristocrats.

Dido and Aeneas, 1747 Pompeo Batoni [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1805 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) although a prolific composer, wrote only one opera, Fidelio. The extremes of musical expression in Beethoven’s music pushed the boundaries in the late Classical period and inspired generations of Romantic composers.

Gioacchino Rossini 1792-1868) composed Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), becoming the most prodigious opera composer in Italy by age 24. He wrote 39 operas in 20 years. A new compositional style created by Rossini and his contemporaries, including Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini, would, a century later, be referred to as bel canto (beautiful singing). Bel canto compositions were inspired by the nuanced vocal capabilities of the human voice and its expressive potential. employedComposersstrategicuse of register, the push and pull of tempo (rubato), extremely smooth and connected phrases (legato), and vocal glides (portamento).

1816

1767

The Magic Flute Playbill for the premiere, 30 September 1791[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1750 s A reform movement, led by Christoph Gluck (1714-1787), rejected the flashy ornamented style of the Baroque in favor of simple, refined music to enhance the drama. simplicity refined to enhance the drama.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Posthumous painting by Barbara Krafft in 1819 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

CLASSICAL (1730-1820)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) wrote his first opera at age 11, beginning his 25-year opera career. Mozart mastered, then innovated in several operatic forms. He wrote opera serias, including La Clemenza di Tito, and opera buffas (comedic operas) like Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro). He then combined the two genres in Don Giovanni, calling it dramma giocoso (comedic drama). Mozart also innovated the Singspiel (German sung play), featuring a spoken dialogue, as in Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute).

1853 Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) completed La Traviata, a story of love, loss, and the struggle of average people, in the increasingly popular realistic style of verismo Verdi enjoyed immense acclaim during his lifetime, while expanding opera to include larger orchestras, extravagant sets and costumes, and more highly trained voices.

Giuseppe Verdi, by Giovanni Boldini, 1886 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1871 in Munich via Wikimedia Commons

1871 Influenced by French operetta, English librettist W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and composer Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) began their 25-year partnership, which produced 14 comic operettas including The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. Their works inspired the genre of American musical theater.

The Golden Age of Opera

ROMANTIC (1790-1910)

Richard Wagner Photo taken

1865 Richard Wagner’s (1813-1883) Tristan und Isolde was the beginning of musical Modernism, pushing the use of traditional harmony to its extreme. His massively ambitious, lengthy operas, often based in German folklore, sought to synthesize music, theater, poetry, and visuals in what he called a Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art). The most famous of these was an epic four-opera drama, Der Ring des Nibelungen, which took him 26 years to write and was completed in 1874.

1842 Inspired by the risqué popular entertainment of French vaudeville, Hervé created the first operetta, a short comedic musical drama with spoken dialogue. Responding to popular trends, this new form stood in contrast to the increasingly serious and dramatic works at the grand Parisian opera house. Opéra comique as a genre was often not comic, rather realistic or humanistic. Grand Opera, on the contrary, was exaggerated and melodramatic.

“The King of Ragtime,” wrote his only opera, Treemonisha, which was not performed until 1972. The work combined the European late-Romantic operatic style with African American folk songs, spirituals, and dances. The libretto, also by Joplin, was written at a time when literacy among African Americans in the southern United States was rare.

1927 American musical theater, commonly referred to as Broadway, was taken more seriously after Jerome Kern’s (1885-1945) Show Boat, words by Oscar Hammerstein, tackled issues of racial segregation and the ban on interracial marriage in Mississippi.

Porgy and Bess by the New York Harlem Theatre 2009

1874

Johann Strauss II, influenced largely by his father, with whom he shared a name and talent, composed Die Fledermaus, shapingthetraditions,Viennesepopularizingmusicalnamelywaltz,and operetta

ROMANTIC (1790-1910)

1922

1896

A scene from a 19thcentury version of the play The Barber of Seville by Pierre Beaumarchais. Its origins in the commedia dell’arte are shown in this picture which portrays Figaro dressed in the costume and mask of Harlequin. 1884 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Alan Berg, (1885-1935) composed the first completely atonal opera, Wozzeck, dealing with uncomfortable themes of militarism and social exploitation. Wozzeck is in the style of 12-tone music or Serialism. This new compositional style, developed in Vienna by composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), placed equal importance on each of the 12 pitches in a scale, removing the sense of the music being in a particular key.

Scott Joplin

Mikado Theatre Commonsvia[PublicEdinburgh,poster,1885domain],Wikimedia

1911 Scott Joplin,

Giacomo Puccini’s II, (1858-1924) La Bohème captivated audiences with its lifetimeacclaimPucciniandbeautifulintenselymusic,realism,rawemotion.enjoyedhugeduringhisforhisworks.

Romeo and Juliet in a setting.contemporary

1945 British composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) gained international recognition with his opera Peter Grimes. Britten, along with Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), was one of the first British opera composers to gain fame in nearly 300 years.

Terence Blanchard Six-time Grammy award-winning jazz musician and composer Terence Blanchard Creativity Commons

William Grant Still. Photograph of William Grant Still taken by Carl Van Vechten

tales.reimaginecurrentoperasformsandinfluencedcontinueComposerstobebypresenthistoricalmusicalincreatingnewthatexploreissuesorancient

John Adams (b. 1947) composed one of the great minimalist operas, Nixon in China, the story of Nixon’s 1972 meeting with Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Musical Minimalism strips music down to its essential elements, usually featuring a great deal of repetition with slight variations.

1935 composerAmerican George Gershwin (1898-1937), who was influenced by African American music and culture, debuted his opera, Porgy and Bess, in Boston, MA with an all African American cast of classically trained singers. His contemporary, William Grant Still (1895-1978), a master of European grand opera, fused that with the African American experience and mythology. His first opera, Blue Steel premiered in 1934, one year before Porgy and Bess

Still a vibrant evolving art form, opera attracts composerscontemporarysuch, Philip Glass (b. 1937), Jake Heggie (b. 1961), Terence Blanchard (b. 1962), Ellen Reid (b. 1983) and many others.

1957

Ellen Reid. Pulitzer Prize winning contemporary composer, Ellen Reid. Photo courtesy of Ellen Reid

CommonsCreativityLeonardBernstein

1986

20TH CENTURY

1987

Today

Anthony Davis (b. 1951) premiered his first of many operas, X, The Life and Time of Malcom X which reclaims stories of Black historical figures within the theater space. He incorporated both the orchestral and vocal techniques of jazz and classical European opera in his score for a distinctly American sound, and a fully realized vision of how jazz and opera are in conversation within a work.

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), known for andtheater,Americanthebroughtmusicalsynthesizinggenres,togetherbestofmusicalopera,balletin West Side Story reimagining—aof

The Science and Art of Opera

Photo: Eric Antoniou

So Young Park as Queen of the Night

Why Do Opera SingersSound Like That?

Opera is unique among forms of singing in that singers are trained to be able to sing without amplification, in large theaters, over an entire orchestra, and still be heard and understood! This is what sets the art form of opera apart from similar forms such as musical theater. To become a professional opera singer, it takes years of intense physical training and constant practice— not unlike that of a ballet dancer—to stay in shape. Additionally, while ballet dancers can dance through pain and illness, poor health, especially respiratory issues and even allergies, can be severely debilitating for a professional opera singer. Let’s peak into some of the science of this art form.

Singing requires different parts of the body to work together: the lungs, the vocal cords, the vocal tract, and the articulators (lips, teeth, and tongue). The lungs create a flow of air over the vocal cords, which vibrate. That vibration is amplified by the vocal tract and broken up into words by consonants produced by the articulators.

If you run your fingers along your throat, you will feel a little lump just underneath your chin. That is your “Adam’s Apple,” and right behind it, housed in the larynx (voice-box), are your vocal cords. When air from the lungs crosses over the vocal cords it creates an area of low pressure (Google The Bernoulli Effect), which brings the cords together and makes them vibrate. This vibration produces a buzz. The vocal chords can be lengthened or shortened by muscles in the larynx, or by increasing the speed of air flow. This change in the length and thickness of the vocal cords is what allows singers to create different pitches. Higher pitches require long, thin cords, while low pitches require short, thick ones. Professional singers take great pains to protect the delicate anatomy of their vocal cords with hydration and rest, as the tiniest scarring or inflammation can have noticeable effects on the quality of sound produced.

VIBRATION:BREATH:

How the Voice Works

Any good singer will tell you that good breath support is essential to produce quality sound. Breath is like the gas that goes into your car. Without it, nothing runs. In order to sing long phrases of music with clarity and volume, opera singers access their full lung capacity by keeping their torso elongated and releasing the lower abdomen and diaphragm muscles, which allows air to enter into the lower lobes of the lungs. This is why we associate a certain posture with opera singers. In the past, many operas were staged with singers standing in one place to deliver an entire aria or scene, with minimal activity. Modern productions, however, often demand a much greater range of movement and agility onstage, requiring performers to be physically fit, and disproving the stereotype of the “fat lady sings.”

ARTICULATION:RESONANCE:

Without the resonating chambers in the head, the buzzing of the vocal cords would sound very unpleasant. The vocal tract, a term encompassing the mouth cavity, and the back of the throat, down to the larynx, shapes the buzzing of the vocal cords like a sculptor shapes clay. Shape your mouth in an ee vowel (as in eat), then sharply inhale a few times. The cool sensation you feel at the top and back of your mouth is your soft palate. The soft palate can raise or lower to change the shape of the vocal tract. Opera singers always strive to sing with a raised soft palate, which allows for the greatest amplification of the sound produced by the vocal cords. Different vowel sounds are produced by raising or lowering the tongue. Say the vowels: ee, eh, ah, oh, oo and notice how each vowel requires a slightly lower tongue placement. This area of vocal training is particularly difficult because none of the anatomy is visible from the outside!

The lips, teeth, and tongue are all used to create consonant sounds, which separate words into syllables and make language intelligible. Consonants must be clear and audible for the singer to be understood. Because opera singers do not sing with amplification, their articulation must be particularly good. The challenge lies in producing crisp, rapid consonants without interrupting the connection of the vowels (through the controlled exhale of breath) within the musical phrase.

Perfecting every element of this complex singing system requires years of training and is essential for the demands of the art form. An opera singer must be capable of singing for hours at a time, over the top of an orchestra, in large opera houses, while acting and delivering an artistic interpretation of the music. It is complete and total engagement of mental, physical, and emotional control and expression. Therefore, think of opera singers as the Olympic athletes of the stage, sit back, and marvel at what the human body is capable of!

The lowest male voice, basses often fall into two main categories: basso buffo, which is a comic character who often sings in lower laughing-like tones, and basso profundo, which is as low as the human voice can sing! Doctor Bartolo is an example of a bass role in The Barber of Seville by Rossini.

A middle-range male voice, baritones can range from sweet and mild in tone, to darker dramatic and full tones. A famous baritone role is Rigoletto in Verdi’s Rigoletto. Baritones who are most comfortable in a slightly lower range are known as BassBaritones, a hybrid of the two lowest voice types.

Tenor:

The highest male voice; tenors often sing the role of the hero. One of the most famous tenor roles is Roméo Gounod’s Roméo et Juliet. Occasionally men have cultivated very high voices singing in a range similar to a mezzosoprano but using their falsetto. Called the Countertenor, this voice type is often found in Baroque music. Countertenors replaced castrati in the heroic lead roles of baroque opera after the practice of castration was deemed unethical.

SopranoMezzoSoprano

Baritone:

Tenor

Bass:

Different Voice Types

BaritoneBass Contralto

Opera singers are cast into roles based on their tessitura (the range of notes they can sing comfortably). There are many descriptors that accompany the basic voice types, but here are some of the most common ones:

The highest female voice; some sopranos are designated as coloratura as they specialize in being able to sing very fast-moving notes that are very high in frequency and light in tone, often referred to as “color notes.” One of the most famous coloratura roles is The Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute

OccasionallyRoméooftentheinvoicesmezzo-voicemusic.inoperawas

Soprano:

Somewhat equivalent to the lower female alto role in a chorus, mezzo-sopranos (mezzo translated as “middle”) are known for their full and expressive qualities. While they don’t sing frequencies quite as high as sopranos, their ranges do overlap, and it is a “darker” tone that sets them apart. One of the most famous mezzo-soprano lead roles is Carmen in Bizet’s Carmen

Contralto:

Mezzo-Soprano:

Each of the voice types (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass) also tends to be sub-characterized by whether it is more Lyric or Dramatic in tone. Lyric singers tend toward smooth lines in their music, sensitively expressed interpretation, and flexible agility. Dramatic singers have qualities that are attributed to darker, fuller, richer note qualities expressed powerfully and robustly with strong emotion. While its easiest to understand operatic voice types through these designations and descriptions, one of the most exciting things about listening to a singer perform is that each individual’s voice is essentially unique, thus each singer will interpret a role in an opera in a slightly different way.

Occasionally women have an even lower range that overlaps with the highest male voice. This voice type is more rare and they often play male characters, referred to in opera as trouser roles.

The Physics of Opera Singers

For instance, the orchestra tunes to a concert “A” pitch before a performance. Concert “A” has a frequency of about 440 hertz, but that is not the only pitch you will hear. Progressively softer pitches above that fundamental pitch are produced in multiples of 440 at 880hz, 1320hz, 1760hz, etc. Each different instrument in the orchestra, because of its shape, construction, and mode in which it produces sound, produces different harmonics. This is what makes a violin, for example, have a different color (or timbre ) from a trumpet. Generally, the harmonics of the instruments in the orchestra fade around 2500hz. Overtones produced by a human voice—whether speaking, yelling, or singing—are referred to as formants

Prof. Tecumseh Fitch, evolutionary biologist and cognitive scientist at the University of Vienna, explains the difference between a fundamental frequency and formant frequency in the human voice. For an opera singer, the lower two formants (peaks on a graph) determine the specific vowel sound. The third formant and above add overtones that are specific to each particular singers’ voice, like a fingerprint. When two people sing the same note simultaneously, the high overtones allow your ear to distinguish two voices

As the demands of opera stars increased, vocal teachers discovered that by manipulating the empty space within the vocal tract, they could emphasize higher frequencies within the overtone series—frequencies above 2500hz. This technique allowed singers to perform without hurting their vocal cords, as they are not actually singing at a higher fundamental decibel level than the orchestra. Swedish voice scientist, Johann Sundberg, observed this phenomenon when he recorded the worldfamous tenor Jussi Bjoerling in 1970. His research showed multiple peaks in decibel level, with the strongest frequency (overtone) falling between 2500 and 3000 hertz. This frequency, known as the singer’s formant , is the “sweet spot” for singers so that we hear their voices soaring over the orchestra into the opera house night after night.

What is it about opera singers that allows them to be heard above the orchestra? It’s not that they simply singing louder. The qualities of sound have to do with the relationship between the frequency (pitch) of a sound, represented in a unit of measurement called hertz, and its amplitude, measured in decibels, which the ear perceives as loudness. Only artificially produced sounds, however, create a pure frequency and amplitude (these are the only kind that can break glass). The sound produced by a violin, a drum, a voice, or even smacking your hand on a table, produces a fundamental frequency as well as secondary, tertiary, etc. frequencies known as overtones, or as musicians call them, harmonics.

The final piece of the puzzle in creating the perfect operatic sound is the opera house or theater itself. Designing the perfect acoustical space can be an almost impossible task, one which requires tremendous knowledge of science, engineering, and architecture, as well as an artistic sensibility. The goal of the acoustician is to make sure that everyone in the audience can clearly understand the music being produced onstage, no matter where they are sitting. A perfectly designed opera house or concert hall (for non-amplified sound) functions almost like gigantic musical instrument.

A Resonant Place

Boston Opera House, Photo by John Wolf

dry – meaning the sound onstage will

not carry at all and the performers may have trouble even hearing themselves as they perform. Imagine singing into a pillow or under a Theblanket.shape of the room itself also contributes to the way the audience perceives the music. Most large performance spaces are shaped like a bell – small where the stage is and growing larger and more spread out in every dimension as one moves farther away. This shape helps to create a clear path for the sound to every seat. In designing concert halls or opera houses, big decisions must be made about the construction of the building based on acoustical needs. Even with the best planning, the perfect acoustic is not guaranteed, but professionals are constantly learning and adapting new scientific knowledge to enhance the audience’s experience.

Reverberation is one key aspect in making a singer’s words intelligible or an orchestra’s melodies clear. Imagine the sound your voice would make in the shower or a cave. The echo you hear is reverberation caused by the large, hard, smooth surfaces. Too much reverberation (bouncing sound waves) can make words difficult to understand. Resonant vowel sounds overlap as they bounce off of hard surfaces and cover up quieter consonant sounds. In these environments, sound carries a long way but becomes unclear or, as it is sometimes called, wet as if the sound were aabsorptionusedtools,andorfabric,texturedsmooththeseAcousticiansunderwater.canmitigateeffectsbycoveringsurfaceswithmaterialslikeperforatedmetal,diffusers,whichabsorbdispersesound.Thesehowever,mustbecarefully,astoomuchcanmakespace

Boston Symphony Hall, opened in 1900, with acoustical design by Harvard physicist Wallace Clement Sabine, was the first concert hall to be designed with scientific acoustic principles in mind. Each seat was mathematically designed and placed for maximum acoustical perfection.

Notes to Prepare for the Opera

You will see a full dress rehearsal – an insider’s look into the final moments of preparation before an opera premieres. The singers will be in full costume and makeup, the opera will be fully staged, and an orchestra will accompany the singers, who may choose to “mark,” or not sing in full voice, to save their voices for the performances. A final dress rehearsal is often a complete run-through, but there is a chance the director or conductor will ask to repeat a scene or section of music. This is the last opportunity the performers have to rehearse with the orchestra before opening night, and they therefore need this valuable time to work.

The following will help you better enjoy your experience of a night at the opera:

} Listen for subtleties in the music. The tempo, volume, and complexity of the music and singing depict the feelings or actions of the characters. Also, notice repeated words or phrases; they are usually significant.

} The singers, orchestra, dancers, and stage crew are all hard at work to create an amazing performance for you! Here’s how you can help them: Lit screens are very distracting to the singers, so please keep your phone out of sight and off until the house lights come up. Due to how distracting electronics can be for performers, taking photos or making audio or video recordings is strictly forbidden.

} Feel free to applaud or shout Bravo at the end of an aria or chorus piece if you really liked it. The end of a piece can be identified by a pause in the music. Singers love an appreciative audience!

} Arrive on time! Latecomers will be seated only at suitable breaks in the performance and often not until intermission.

} When translating songs, and poetry in particular, much can be lost due to a change in rhythm, inflection and rhyme of words. For this reason, opera is usually performed in its original language. In order to help audiences enjoy the music and follow every twist and turn of the plot, English supertitles are projected. Even when the opera is in English, there are still supertitles.

} At the very beginning of the opera, the concertmaster of the orchestra will ask the oboist to play the note “A.” You will hear all the other musicians in the orchestra tune their instruments to match the oboe’s “A.”

} After all the instruments are tuned, the conductor will arrive. You can applaud to welcome them!

? Do not chew gum, eat, or drink, while the rehearsal is in session. Not only can it pull focus from the performance, but many live theaters do not allow food and drink inside the theater..

} Dress in what you are comfortable in so that you may enjoy the performance. For some, that may mean dressing up in a suit or gown, for others, jeans and a t-shirt is fine. Generally “dressycasual” is what people wear. Live theater is usually a little more formal than a movie theater.

Have Fun and Enjoy the Opera!

} It’s OK to laugh when something is funny or gasp at something shocking!

? Please do not take off your shoes or put your feet on the seat in front of you.

? Respect your fellow opera lovers by not leaning forward in your seat so as to block the person’s view behind you

} The theatre is a shared space, so please be courteous to your neighbors!

} Sit back, relax and let the action on stage pull you in. As an audience member, you are essential to the art form of opera—without you, there is no show!

? If you must visit the restroom during the performance, please exit quickly and quietly.