La Bohème: A Timeless Operatic Classic #

A poor young poet is struggling to write in his attic apartment when a knock at the door interrupts him. It’s the sickly seamstress who lives downstairs. Her candle has gone out, and she asks if he can light it. Just 15 minutes later, these two strangers are singing ecstatically about their love.

In the world of opera, this scene might seem implausible at first, but Giacomo Puccini’s ‘La Bohème’ makes the moment irresistibly believable. When the opera works its magic, emotions are compressed and heightened through the music.

Puccini, who died on November 29, 1924, repeatedly demonstrated his mastery of creating moments like this. He unleashed a Technicolor extravagance of feeling while conveying plain, simple truths. Whether a painter assures his jealous girlfriend that her eyes are the most beautiful in the world, a prince promises to keep his name a secret from a city desperate to know it, or a teenage geisha remains convinced her husband will return, Puccini’s music elevates these moments from the mundane to the profound.

These passages, when set to his music, evoke the most sincere and profound human experiences. Once heard, they linger, stirring emotions and bringing tears with just a thought.