La Bohème Opera Lesson Plans to Prepare Your Students for the Performance
Next week, I'm taking three of my kids to see one of the most beautiful, heart-wrenching operas of all time, Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème. I dare you to listen to the beautiful music below and not get chills! Use the La Bohème Opera Lesson Plans below to help prepare your students for a performance or just learn about the opera at home or in the classroom!
Here's a little known fact. In college, I had the opportunity to perform in two operas. La Bohème was one of them!
Background of La Bohème
Giacomo Puccini wrote the music for the 4-act opera La Bohème in 1895. The libretto (the words) were written by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. The opera is sung in Italian. The world premiere of La Bohème was in Turin, Italy in 1896 and in the United States (Los Angeles) the following year. It's one of the most frequently performed and best-loved operas of all time.
Setting of La Bohème:
Paris, France around the year 1830.
Characters:
Rodolfo, a poet
Mimì, a seamstress
Marcello, a painter
Musetta, a singer
Schaunard, a musician
Colline, a philosopher
Benoît, their landlord
Alcindoro, a state councilor
Parpignol, a toy vendor
A customs Sergeant
Students, working girls, townsfolk, shopkeepers, street-vendors, soldiers, waiters, children
Story Synopsis:
Here's fun “cartoon” synopsis of the opera:
Famous Arias (solos):
“Quando m'en vo” (also known as “Musetta's Waltz”) is sung by Musetta at the café:
The tenor solo “Che gelida manina” (‘Your tiny hand is frozen') is sung by Rodolfo to Mimì:
Mimì's famous aria is called “Si mi chiamano Mimì” (“They call me Mimì”) and is sung when she introduces herself to Rodolfo:
And, here is a beautiful duet “O Soave Fanciulla” (“Oh, Lovely Lady”) sung by Rodolfo and Mimì:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zjDh0Hkb3E
Special Effects:
One of the great technical special effects in the opera La Bohème is the effect of snow falling. See this video for a behind-the-scenes look at how they achieve the effect.
