Puccini’s beloved La Bohème comes to the Israeli Opera in collaboration with Oper Köln. The production originally directed by the late German theatre and opera director Michael Hampe (1935 – 1922), will be directed in this revival by Eike Ecker, who worked alongside with Hampe for many years, together with Israeli director Regina Alexandrovskaya. Performances will take place from March 21 – April 2, 2025, and the opera will be conducted by Carlo Montanaro.
The romantic tale of struggling young artists in love is timeless. La Bohème’s world premiere took place in Turin in 1896 and was conducted by a young Arturo Toscanini. The libretto is based on Henri Murger’s Scènes de la vie de bohème (1851), and even though the libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa is set in Paris of the mid-19th century, Giacomo Puccini’s music expresses the wonders and woes of art and love, touching the hearts of audiences worldwide.
The opera finds friends Marcello, a painter, and the poet Rodolfo, philosopher Colline, and musician Schaunard, freezing in attic apartments and drinking in the cafés of Paris’s Latin Quarter. Despite their poverty, they are always ready to have a laugh, a drink, and a fun flirtation. Rodolfo’s flirtation with the lovely Mimi blossoms into love, but as the opera enters its third act, the joys of the bohemian life begin to fade. Mimi is seriously ill and convinced that his poverty will only hasten her death, Rodolfo decides to break off their relationship. True love, however, never dies (at least not in the opera) and when the time comes, the friends gather round Mimi, hoping to bring her some comfort and love in her last moments.
A different production of La Bohème, by the Opera de Oviedo of Spain, was originally scheduled to be performed at the Israeli Opera this season. However, towards the end of January, when the sets were to be transported to Israel, it was discovered that some were damaged and could not be used. The Israeli Opera contacted Oper Köln in Germany and they responded warmly and swiftly – packing 8 containers worth of set and costumes for Hampe’s production of La Bohème and shipping them to Israel within a matter of days, and Revival Director Eike Ecker took time from her busy schedule to come to Israel to work on the production.
Soloists in the opera will be: Valentin Dytiuk and Pavel Petrov alternating as Rodolfo; Alla Vasilevitsky and Sofia Fomina alternating as Mimi; Mario Cassi and Oded Reich alternating as Marcello; Laura Ulloa and Yael Levita alternating as Musetta; Balint Szabo and Alex Birkus alternating as Colline; Julien Van Mallertes and Italo Proferisce alternating as Schaunard; Yair Polishook and Yoav Ayalon alternating as Benoit/Alcindoro.
Performances will take place: Friday, March 21st at 13:00; Sunday, March 23rd at 19:30 (premiere); Monday, March 24th at 20:00; Tuesday, March 25th at 18:00; Thursday, March 27th at 20:00; Friday, March 28th at 13:00; Saturday, March 29th at 20:00; Sunday, March 30th at 18:00; Tuesday, April 1st at 20:00; Wednesday, April 2nd at 20:00.
Additional information and tickets are available on the Israeli Opera website.
