Initially based on Scènes de la vie de bohème (1851), La bohème follows the trials and tribulations of young artists struggling to make ends meet. Despite their circumstance, they celebrate small wins, while seeking love and opportunity. La bohème is an Italian opera that centers a group of up-and-coming artists. This includes Rodolfo, a poet, Mimì, a seamstress, Marcello, a painter and Musetta, a singer. Together, they attempt to earn a living from their respective crafts. Rodolfo and Marcello struggle to maintain their relationships with Mimì and Musetta, who are likely to attract wealthier suitors. In the midst of romance troubles and a professional drought, Mimì’s health becomes a cause for concern. La bohème is a captivating story about friendship, love and survival. Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica’s opera offers a compelling narrative with memorable moments. It’s a romantic tale that highlights hope in the face of tragedy. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of La bohème is both modern and readable.
· 2005
A comprehensive guide to Puccini's LA BOHEME, featuring Principal Characters in the opera, Brief Story Synopsis, Story Narrative with over 20 Music Highlight Examples, a complete, newly translated LIBRETTO with English/Italian side-by-side, selected Discography and Videography, Dictionary of Opera and Musical Terms, and an insightful and in depth Commentary and Analysis by Burton D. Fisher, noted opera author and lecturer.
Tosca è un'opera lirica in tre atti di Giacomo Puccini, su libretto di Giuseppe Giacosa e Luigi Illica, una breve storia d'amore e di morte. Nella Roma del 1800 dopo il fallimento della Repubblica Romana, quando lo Stato Pontificio sta catturando i rappresentanti ed i sostenitori della Repubblica, le vite del pittore Mario Cavaradossi e della sua amante Tosca, incrociano Cesare Angelotti, patriota fuggito dalle carceri del Papa. Sulle tracce del fuggiasco c'è il capo della polizia pontificia, barone Scampia che, innamorato di Tosca, approfitta della situazione per conquistare la donna. L'opera drammatica finisce come deve finire una tragedia: muore il fuggiasco, muore il cattivo Scampia per mano di Tosca, muore il pittore ed infine muore Tosca suicida (Aonia edizioni).
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(Amadeus). An idealistic artist, a celebrated opera singer, and a corrupt police chief engage in a fierce battle of wills in this tempestuous tale of passion, intrigue, cruelty, and deception. Puccini's great melodrama may be set in 1800, amid the Napoleonic wars, but the conflicts between love and loyalty, the state and the individual, and hypocrisy and principle are anything but dated. Floria Tosca, the beautiful, glamorous singer who has all of Rome at her feet, is one of the iconic soprano roles in the Italian repertoire. She's caught between two men: her lover, the handsome painter Cavaradossi, who defies the law to hide a rebel friend; and the villainous Baron Scarpia, Rome's all-powerful chief of police, who will stop at nothing to crush the rebels and conquer Tosca for himself. This gripping story of torture, attempted rape, murder, suicide, and general mayhem is as thrilling and dramatic as anything seen on the operatic stage.
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· 1952
Metropolitan Opera House, season 1951-1952, Tuesday afternoon, April 29, 1952, at 2:00, "Madama Butterfly," opera in three acts, libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, music by Giacomo Puccini, conductor: Fausto Cleva, stage director: Desire Defrere, chorus master: Kurt Adler, assistant chorus master: Walter Taussig.