Opera on the Mall: LA BOHEME

FPO

LA BOHÈME Saturday, September 14, 2019 6:00 p.m. pre-show | 7:00 p.m. broadcast Independence National Historical Park

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OPERAONTHEMALL.ORG #ONTHEMALL

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Major support received by the Mazzotti/Kelly Fund-BBH of The Philadelphia Foundation.

Additional support provided by Ms. Robin Angly and Mr. Miles Smith.

Welcome Welcome to the ninth annual Opera on the Mall!

Since 2011, our generous partners have helped Opera Philadelphia bring this great art form beyond the opera house, to be enjoyed by more than 30,000 people.

Tonight’s broadcast of Puccini’s La bohème is special not just because it is one of the most popular and beloved operas of all time, but because this production has its roots in Philadelphia.

This production of La bohème debuted in our great city in 2012, with sets and costumes inspired by works of art in the collections of the Barnes Foundation and Philadelphia Museum of Art. Following an international tour, we were thrilled to bring it back to the Academy of Music last spring, and to now share it with you.

I am exceptionally proud of the cast, many of whom studied at the Academy of Vocal Arts or the Curtis Institute of Music, cementing the deep connection this production has with the city of Philadelphia.

I’m also excited to share that we are only days away from the third annual Festival O, a celebration of opera – both classic and new – in venues around the city. I hope tonight’s broadcast will inspire you to check out those performances over the next two weeks and keep coming to the opera, whether in the theaters or here on Independence Mall.

David B. Devan General Director & President @ddevan

Photo by Steven Pisano

L A BOH È M E

Independence Visitor Center

5th Street

6th Street

YOUR GUIDE TO OPERA ON THE MALL

P E R F O R M E D I N I TA L I A N W I T H E N G L I S H S U B T I T L E S Market Street

SC H E D U L E 5:30 6:00 7:00 7:55 9:20

p.m.: p.m.: p.m.: p.m.: p.m.:

President’s House Site

Gates open Pre-show video with cast & creative team interviews Performance begins Intermission (20 minutes) Performance ends

PRE-SHOW ACTIVITIES

ENJOYING THE BROADCAST

•S hare your Instagram photos #onthemall with @operaphila and @independencenps

•B ring your blankets and beach chairs Low-slung preferred

•P ose for photos in the FREE photobooth •E njoy opera-themed activities at the Family Fun Zone • L iberty Bell Center open until 5 p.m. Last admittance 4:50 p.m.

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Liberty Bell Center

Chestnut Street

Independence Hall

• Picnic dinners encouraged • Dogs must be kept on leashes at all times • F ood trucks, portable restrooms, and Festival Guest Services on 5th Street, between Market and Chestnut • I ndependence Visitor Center open until 6:00 p.m.

Restrooms open until 10:00 p.m.

ENTRANCE LOCATIONS

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INFORMATION

RESTROOMS VIDEO SCREENS

PHOTOBOOTH FAMILY FUN ZONE

GUEST SERVICES

FOOD TRUCKS

Follow @operaphila and join the conversation #onthemall

I N D E P E N D E N C E N AT I O N A L H I S T O R I C A L PA R K A visit to Independence National Historical

Heritage Site because of the world-changing

Park is an opportunity to celebrate and

events that occurred inside this building.

explore our nation’s past. Stand in the

This is a great opportunity to #FindYourPark.

Every visit should start at the Independence

shadow of Independence Hall or read the

There is so much more history to explore,

Visitor Center. Learn more about

famous inscription on the Liberty Bell. Stop

from the Georgian architecture, to the

Independence National Historical Park and

for a moment in the President’s House Site

Portrait Gallery of the Second Bank, to an

the founding of our nation on the free mobile

and consider the promises and paradoxes

18th century print office. The park’s museum

app, NPSIndependence, and by following

of the liberty our founders envisioned. The

collection contains 2.2 million historic

#FindYourPark.

ideas of liberty and self-government tested

artifacts associated with events, people and

here still echo through our lives today.

places relevant to the park’s mission. The Benjamin Franklin Museum showcases the

This national park preserves and interprets

creativity, ambition, and genius of one of

many of the most important resources

our greatest founding fathers. Exhibits at the

associated with the founding of our country.

National Constitution Center trace the impact

Independence Hall has been recognized

of our Constitution over the years.

internationally as a UNESCO World

The story of

La bohème Giacomo Puccini’s opera La

The activities of the bohemians are

bohème tells the story of a

simple: they paint and compose

group of young, impoverished

poetry; they revel in the joyful

artists – the Bohemians – living

streets and cafés of Paris. They stiff

in 1890s Paris. The poet Rodolfo,

the landlord, joke around, and

the seamstress Mimì, the painter

fight. The story is special because

Marcello, the singer Musetta, the

those activities are so relatable –

philosopher Colline, and the

not to mention backed by Puccini’s

musician Schaunard struggle with

emotional, memorable score.

their art, with poverty, and with their relationships.

Although La bohème was considered controversial for the

The tragic love story at the center

time and opened to mixed reviews

of the opera begins when Mimì

in 1896, it went on to become

and Rodolfo meet on a cold

one of the most popular operas of

Christmas Eve. Their relationship

all time. The story of La bohème

blossoms even as Mimì’s health

inspired the musical Rent, the

begins to fail and her friends are

movie Moulin Rouge, and has

forced to make tough choices to

been referenced in movies like

help her.

Moonstruck and Trading Places and TV shows, including The Simpsons.

Photo by Steven Pisano

EVENT PARTNERS

MEET THE CAST OF LA BOHÈME

E VA N L E R O Y J O H N S O N RODOLFO Tenor

VA N E S S A VA S Q U E Z * MIMI Soprano

PEIXIN CHEN COLLINE Bass

WILL LIVERMAN SCHAUNARD Baritone

TOFFER MIHALKA PARPIGNOL Tenor

ASHLEY MARIE ROBILLARD MUSETTA Soprano

TROY COOK MARCELLO Baritone

JACKSON WILLIAMS CUSTOMS HOUSE OFFICER Bass

KEVIN BURDETTE BENOIT & ALCINDORO Bass

M AT T H E W F L E I S H E R SERGEANT Bass

GEORGE SOMERVILLE PRUNE MAN Tenor

PHILADELPHIA GIRLS & BOYS CHOIRS CHILDREN’S CHORUS

C R E AT I V E T E A M MUSIC / Giacomo Puccini

AUDIOVISUAL / D-Wok

LIBRETTO / Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa

CHORUS MASTER / Elizabeth Braden

CONDUCTOR / Corrado Rovaris

WIG & MAKE-UP DESIGN / David Zimmerman

DIRECTOR / Davide Livermore

STAGE MANAGER / Lisa Anderson

REVIVAL DIRECTOR / Alessandra Premoli*

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR / Gregory Boyle

SET & COSTUME DESIGN / Davide Livermore

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER / Megan Coutts

LIGHTING DESIGN / Drew Billiau

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER / Jennifer Shaw

ORIGINAL COSTUME DESIGN / Palau de les Arts *Opera Philadelphia debut

Production of the Palau de les Arts “Reina Sofia” in Valencia, Spain, in 2012.

Opera at the Academy is underwritten, in part, by Judy and Peter Leone.

Photos by Steven Pisano “I’m looking at Paris, seeing the skies grey with smoke from a thousand

chimneys,” sings Rodolfo as Act I

opens. The set lights up with Pissaro’s “Avenue de l’Opéra: Morning Sunshine,” which lives at the

Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The Art of

La bohème

/

As Mimì sings of the flowers she

makes and her love of spring, Renoir’s “Anemones” appears behind her.

“Anemones” is in the collection of The Barnes Foundation. The sunflowers

Opera Philadelphia’s production of La bohème was inspired by Impressionist artworks selected by director and set designer Davide Livermore, then digitized and animated by D-WOK, an entertainment design group.

she holds, and then the painting that

Many of the artworks that inspired the production live at The Barnes Foundation and Philadelphia Museum of Art; a few are from collections around the world. And while some are easily recognizable, others may be more unfamiliar.

Here’s a guide to the artwork of La bohème:

similar to the sculpture “Little Dancer,

appears behind Rodolfo and Mimì as they kiss, are inspired by Van Gogh’s

“Sunflowers,” in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

/

Famous artworks also inspired some of the costumes. The dancers in Act II are dressed as Degas’ dancers,

Age Fourteen” at the Philadelphia

Museum of Art. Mimì’s blue dress was modeled after Renoir’s “Girl in GreyBlue” and the bonnet Rodolfo buys her is designed after Renoir’s “Girl

with Pink Bonnet.” Both paintings are in the collection of The Barnes

Foundation. “Girl with Pink Bonnet”

also appears in Act IV as Rodolfo and Marcello sing of their loves.

/

As Act III opens, Marcello sits at

an easel painting a winter scene that is adapted from Monet’s “Morning

Haze,” which is in the collection of

the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The winter scene becomes the backdrop for most of Act III, until it melts

into spring at the end of the scene as Mimì and Rodolfo decide to remain together. Spring is represented by Renoir’s “Meadow,” part of The Barnes Foundation collection.

Photo by Michele Borzoni

WELCOME TO

FESTIVAL O

If this is your first time at Opera on the Mall, or first time at any opera, don’t worry if you’re feeling like a newbie.

See, Festival O19, which is about to unleash two weeks of opera across Philadelphia, is all about “new.”

With two world premieres and two company premieres on tap, Festival O19 brings a new kind of opera experience to even the most veteran of opera lovers. Whether you’re coming to see an Opera Philadelphia production for the first time, or you’re a longtime subscriber, you will be sharing in the experience of seeing productions few, if any, have ever seen before.

The Love for Three Oranges may be a staple in European opera houses, but

since its 1921 Chicago premiere, this surreal, operatic fairy tale has rarely been performed in the United States, and never at Opera Philadelphia.

With a huge cast, acrobats, and three princesses hidden inside Fabergé eggstyle oranges, this wacky comedy has something for everyone.

internet and transformed two teenagers into clickbait; and Let Me Die, a collage of original music, narrative, and a greatest-hits of assorted opera death scenes.

Festivalgoers can hear new voices in opera at Curtis in Concert, an afternoon recital series starring graduates of the Semele might seem old – a Baroque Curtis Institute of Music, and hear opera based on the myths of ancient opera singers as never before at Late Greece and Rome – but this reimagined Night Snacks, an after-hours cabaret production breathes new life into in partnership with the 2019 Fringe Handel’s music, weaving in dance, Festival. ethereal costumes, and fresh scenery.

A new kind of comedy, of myth, of It doesn’t get newer than a world tragedy. Experience a new kind of opera. premiere, and O19 has two: Denis & Katya, a multimedia dramatization of a tragic story that went viral on the

EXPERIENCE A NEW KIND OF OPERA

FESTIVAL O19 SEPTEMBER 18–29 12 days of zesty comedy, rare works, world premieres, and more

OPERAPHIL A .ORG

OR, VISIT THE FESTIVAL GUEST SERVICES TENT ON 5TH STREET FOR TICKETS AND SPECIAL OFFERS.