- Opera
- 1 feb – 1 apr 2020, Main Stage.
- Duration: Approx. 2 h 30 min including intermission.
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Ensemble
Press images
Team
- Conductor
- Karen Kamensek
- Conductor
- Henrik Schaefer
- Direction
- Max Webster
- Set and costume design
- Fly Davis
- Choreography
- Ann Yee
- Lighting design
- Jack Knowles
Ensemble
- Mimì
- Kerstin Avemo
- Rodolfo
- Thomas Atkins
- Rodolfo (sung from off-stage 14 feb)
- Aaron Cawley
- Marcello
- Luthando Qave
- Musetta
- Mia Karlsson
- Colline (1 Feb – 13 Mar)
- Henning von Schulman
- Colline (22 Mar – 1 Apr)
- Ivan Dajic
- Schaunard
- Anton Ljungqvist
- Benoît
- Daniel Ralphsson
- Alcindoro
- Mats Almgren
- Parpignol
- Dardan Bakraqi
- Customs officer
- Charlie T. Borg
- Sergeant
- Thomas Jönsson
- Plum seller
- Erik Enqvist
- The Göteborg Opera Chorus
- The Göteborg Opera Orchestra
- Children’s Chorus
- Extras
La bohème
Once, we were all going to live forever.
Opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924). Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa based on a novel by Henri Murger.
Sung in Italian with Swedish and English surtitles.
A group of young friends lead a carefree, artistic life – taking each day in their stride and prioritising pleasure and self-fulfilment before food or shelter. Their possessions are few, but they’re rich in love. What does it matter if you can’t pay the rent when life is but a dance?
One fateful night Rodolfo, an unpublished poet in the gang, runs into a neighbour. He takes her hand, which is cold as ice, and she tells him her name is Mimì. A love affair begins, as simply as that. Although their love flourishes, something is wrong with Mimì which their meagre lifestyle hardly improves. Spring in Paris does not only bring life. Love does not conquer all.
Puccini’s ”La bohème” is easy to love. In four short acts, he captures the recklessness of youth, where it blossoms, wilts and dies. Hope and despair stand side-by-side.
This new interpretation by a young, British team is set in a dreary 1970’s Paris; a time and place where bohemian intellectuals, student revolts and protest marches reawakened dreams of a better, more just society. In her role as Mimì, Kerstin Avemo masterfully exhibits the delicate balance between endurance and fragility. Rodolfo is played by the incredibly gifted Thomas Atkins, one of New Zealand’s rising new stars, and conductor Karen Kamensek sets Puccini’s music free to fly as high as these young adults’ dreams.
Photos from ther performance
Listen to the panel discussion about the new production of La bohème:
”What is a bohemian, really?”
Recorded on the Göteborg Opera’s Small Stage, on Wednesday 22 January.
Participants: Thomas Atkins (Rodolfo), Luthando Qave (Marcello), Mia Karlsson (Musetta), Karen Kamensek (conductor), Max Webster (regissör), Fly Davis (scenografi & kostym). Panel chair: Göran Gademan (dramaturgist)
Musical interludes, with Karin Holm at the piano.
The discussion is in English.
Introductions
One hour prior to each opera performance on the Main Stage, we present an introduction to the evening’s performance. They last around 20 minutes and are held at the Göteborg Opera Small Stage. Admission is free. Limited places available
Please note: introductions are presented in Swedish, and there is no introduction on the premiere performance.
#GOboheme
