La Boheme Tickets - Comparing the Character of Mimi in La Boheme and Rent

La Boheme is one of the great operas that still appears on stage, inspired by the novel Scenes de la vie de Boheme, written by Henri Murger or more specifically by Murger's stage adaptation for the novel. The composer for the opera is Giacomo Puccini. Boheme was first performed on February 1, 1896. The opera brings the series of sketches that Murger created in the book and play, and gives them a unifying plot, reforming it into a whole story. The story is that of a community of artists in Paris, with the central story being that of the poet Rodolfo and the young woman Mimi.

If the story is beginning to sound familiar to those who have not seen the opera, but who have, perhaps, seen Rent, then this is no mistake. The musical is based on Puccini's opera, with a little twist. In the opera the over-hanging cloud is brought by the poverty and difficulty that came with living the Bohemian way of life in Paris, in the Latin Quarter. In Rent the overshadowing cloud is the more contemporary problem of AIDS coupled with the poverty of living in New York's East Side. Other themes in the musical are addiction and the central and overarching theme of both the opera and the musical, love.

In La Boheme, Puccini brought together the characters of Mimi and Francine, from Murger's story, into one person. The character Mimi, suffers the fate of dying in a garret, surrounded by her friends. In Rent this same character is once again split in two, in order to create the characters of Mimi and Angel. In this version Mimi falls in love with Roger, a musician who has given up his music, and Angel, a street musician. The story Rent deals with some heavy topics that are key issues in today's society such as AIDS, homosexuality, bisexuality, love and poverty as well as dealing with the purposes of art. The musical ran for an impressive 12 years on Broadway and is currently on national tour.

The story of La Boheme is a timeless tale of love, poverty, art, life and death. And the four acts are as poignant today as they were when they were first created. The story is one that many people today can relate to, presenting the story of Mimi and Rodolfo and their love, and Mimi's death to the world at large. While the heavy issues of sexuality and STDs are not as heavily present in the same way in opera as in the musical, there are some hints at these issues that are not completely hidden.

The character of Mimi is referred to as a grisette, which in French society of the time signified a woman who defied society being independent monetarily and romantically, who defined the terms of her romantic relationships rather than succumbing to the societal stipulations of the day. In the musical this part of Mimi's character is defined by the person of Angel. The other part of Mimi's character is the delicate and romantic creature, who despite her independence needs the person of Rodolfo to lean on characterized by the person of Mimi.

If you would like to understand more about the two sides of the story La Boheme then the best thing to do would be to get your Rent tickets. If you have already seen Rent then you might also want to buy your La Boheme tickets. This is a great way to study either the opera or the musical in a new way.

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