La Boheme

What if you fall in love, in a world where you can’t even touch?

Scottish Opera celebrates a longed-for return to live, staged opera with the greatest operatic love story ever told.

Rodolfo endures a precarious existence as a jobbing freelance writer. Mimì gets by as a costume maker for theatre and opera. As soon as he sets eyes on her, he’s smitten – but can love survive in a time of illness?

This elegant abridged version – created by composer Jonathan Dove (Flight 2018) – of Puccini’s heartbreaking love story gets a powerful new outdoor production from Scottish Opera Staff Director Roxana Haines, designed by Glasgow-based Anna Orton. The staging places a small audience right in the middle of the action, which takes place among and around you – with appropriate physical distancing observed at all times.

Coming together for this La bohème for today are Elizabeth Llewellyn as Mimì and Rhian Lois as Musetta (both making their Scottish Opera debuts), Samuel Sakker (Kátya Kabanová 2019) as Rodolfo and Roland Wood (Tosca 2019, Pelléas et Mélisande 2017) as Marcello, with Scottish Opera Emerging Artist 2019/20 Arthur Bruce as Schaunard. Company Music Director Stuart Stratford conducts a specially selected ensemble from The Orchestra of Scottish Opera.

Safety for all audience members, performers and backstage crew has been built into the production’s underlying conception from the start, and safety measures will be observed at all times with no compromise.

With its grand theatrical and emotional sweep, this very special production of Puccini’s heartbreaking operatic weepie is a celebration of love in all its forms: from passion to affection, friendship to fraternity. And it’s a poignant love letter to theatre, opera and live performance itself – to singers, instrumentalists, backstage and, of course, audiences.