La bohème is a four-act opera 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, with romantic entanglements conflicting with the ever-present need of money to survive. In Act II, set in the
Quartier Latin, Musetta, a singer, pushes the bill for the group of friends' extravagant meal onto her elderly patron (who tries and fails to have a romantic date with her), after resparking her tulmultuous relationship with Marcello. This set design for Act II of La bohème was created by the German artist
Adolfo Hohenstein for the world premiere in
Turin on 1 February 1896. Produced with
India ink and
tempera on paper, the illustration is in the archives of the Italian music publishing house
Casa Ricordi.Set design credit:
Adolfo Hohenstein; restored by
Adam Cuerden
La bohème is a four-act opera 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, with romantic entanglements conflicting with the ever-present need of money to survive. In Act II, set in the
Quartier Latin, Musetta, a singer, pushes the bill for the group of friends' extravagant meal onto her elderly patron (who tries and fails to have a romantic date with her), after resparking her tulmultuous relationship with Marcello. This set design for Act II of La bohème was created by the German artist
Adolfo Hohenstein for the world premiere in
Turin on 1 February 1896. Produced with
India ink and
tempera on paper, the illustration is in the archives of the Italian music publishing house
Casa Ricordi.Set design credit:
Adolfo Hohenstein; restored by
Adam Cuerden