La bohème is an opera in four acts, composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème (1851) by Henri Murger. The story is set in Paris around 1830 and shows the Bohemian lifestyle of a poor seamstress and her artist friends.
Rodolfo, costume design by Adolfo Hohenstein for the premiere at the Teatro Regio, 1896
Mimì's costume for the premiere
Act 2 costume design for "la rappezzatrice" (the clothes mender) for the world premiere performance.
Set design by Adolfo Hohenstein for act 2 in the première
Giacomo Puccini was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, stemming from the late-Baroque era. Though his early work was firmly rooted in traditional late-19th-century Romantic Italian opera, he later developed his work in the realistic verismo style, of which he became one of the leading exponents.
Giacomo Puccini: photograph of uncertain date.
Puccini's birthplace during restoration work
Original poster for Puccini's Tosca
Puccini photographed in 1908
