I was pleasantly surprised to find out how similar and exciting the opera La Boheme and the movie Rent – which is the opera’s modern interpretation – were. We watched both within a week of each other, and I enjoyed them despite the stigma operas have for conducing sleep. I was actually wide awake during the full four acts of La Boheme, following along with the libretto (the translation on the screens on the back of all the seats) and the frenzy of music and vibrato on the stage. While I did have trouble distinguishing the actors’ faces (since they were wearing similar clothing and we were situated all the way at the back of the opera house) the character Musetta was the easiest to discern – her personality emblazoned on her frivolous skirts and gleaming jewelry and her voice trilling about Marcello and the men she flirted with. La Boheme was interesting in the ways we discussed in class, since it was essentially an opera telling the story of poor people, whereas traditional opera catered to the wealthy. Despite being seated far from the stage, I was impressed by the level of detail and work put into the sets, especially in the scene where all the characters meet in the festive streets where actors (roughly a hundred or so) milled around and contributed to the rustle-and-bustle atmosphere, which definitely caught my interest.

Rent follows the gist of the opera in a modern retelling that brings in elements of drugs, gentrification, AIDS, strippers, and so much more that is of significance today. One thing I loved about both was that the movie captured so many important moments from the opera that one could easily recognize if they had watched the other – from Mimi’s song about lighting her candle in a bid to gain Rodolfo’s attention to Musetta’s flirtatious, non-conforming nature. The musical motif that always preceded Mimi’s entrances were also easy to recognize in both productions.

While I did enjoy both, I do prefer Rent since it has a real-world impact today. It introduces issues that have been prevalent in the past few decades and introduces themes of sexuality that would never have appeared on operas like La Boheme (despite its non-conformity). Overall, I felt both musical productions were effective in letting us see art as a transformation over centuries, moving our analyses of art into a broader scope of time and history, and revealing that change and adaptation will always occur no matter the art piece. It was a great way to end our semester in IDC and I look forward to applying skills and perspectives I have developed here in future goals.