La Boheme was my first experience with the world of opera! The Italian opera, composed by Giacomo Puccini, was performed at Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera House. It consisted of four acts of varying lengths. The story unfolded as a love affair transpired between a poet, Rodolfo, and a seamstress, Mimi, who were living in poverty in 19th century Paris. Rodolfo’s jealousy ended up pulling them apart, but it was sickness that ultimately separated them eternally as Mimi passed away in the end. It was a wonderful production overall. The sets were so elaborate, the vocals were great even though the lead wasn’t feeling well, and the orchestra was phenomenal. I was able to follow along with the Italian thanks to the subtitles at our seats. I look forward to seeing more performances in the style of opera in the future.
On the other hand, I was already very familiar with the play and movie RENT. I had watched the play in my high school’s theatre production class and seen the movie on my own time on Netflix. However, I had absolutely no idea that RENT was based on La Boheme because I hadn’t heard of the Italian opera! It was interesting to see how the motifs and themes remained consistent, even though the two productions were set in very different time periods. For example, Mimi (“they call me Mimi”) was still the primadonna or the female lead. She was introduced the same way, how her candle had gone out and needed a light, and that her romantic intentions were also misinterpreted because of a flirtatious nature. In the end, she also became increasingly ill, though she didn’t die in the film as she did in La Boheme. In the opera, the lovers had reunited in her last moments when she begged to be with him, and in the movie, Mimi was brought to Roger’s for care after her friends had found her.
The general plot carried over even though the content, dialogue, and lyrics were heavily modified for the shift in era. RENT followed modern storylines of HIV/AIDS, drugs, and sexual/gender expression, while La Boheme told a more classic love story in which the man pursued his female soulmate.
The next time I find myself belting the lyrics to “Another Day”, I will be sure to remember the inspiration behind one of my favorite movies and soundtracks of all time!
