La Bohème

La Bohème is one of the three operas, along with Carmen and Aida, believed to be the most popular ever written. The poignant story of Mimì and Rodolfo epitomizes romance, and is told in music of tender beauty, allied as always to Puccini’s intuition of what works in the theater, resulting in an opera that readily appeals to our emotions and senses. "Che gelida manina”—the moment when Mimì and Rodolfo meet and first touch is one of the very great moments of opera.

Thomson Smillie outlines the background to the opera, explaining how painstakingly the composer worked to achieve this effect. An absorbing introduction both for those approaching La Bohème for the first time and for those wanting to know a bit more than just the big arias.