On Tuesday 14 November, at 8pm, four years after the last performances, one of the most loved and performed operas of all time returns to the Maggio: “La bohème” by Giacomo Puccini. The show, revived in Bruno Ravella’s staging – revived by Stefania Grazioli – is directed by maestro Giacomo Sagripanti.

The show features a young and talented cast that will alternate over the course of the six performances.

The performance on November 14th 2023 will be broadcast live on Rai Radio 3

Florence, November 12th, 2023 – As we approach 2024, the year that marks the centenary of the death of Giacomo Puccini and the celebrations in his honour, the stage of the Great Hall of the Teatro del Maggio comes alive again with one of the composer’s most famous operas: La bohème, scheduled for Tuesday, November 14th, 2023 at 8pm.

On the podium, leading the Orchestra and the Choir and the Children’s Choir of the Maggio, maestro Giacomo Sagripanti, in his debut at the Teatro del Maggio. The direction of the show, revived on this occasion by Stefania Grazioli, is by Bruno Ravella.
On stage, a large, talented, young and credible singing company which, alternating, is the protagonist of the six performances on the bill: 14, 16, 22 and 29 November at 8pm and 19 and 25 November at 3.30pm.
Mimì is played by Mariangela Sicilia – who returns to Maggio after the acclaimed performances of Rigoletto in October 2021 – while her role will be supported by Aida Pascu in the shows of 16 and 25 November; Galeano Salas and Kang Wang (performances on November 16, 22 and 25) play the painter Rodolfo; Elisa Balbo and Aleksandrina Mihaylova (in the performances of 16 and 25 November), both making their debut at the Maggio, alternate in the part of Musetta while the painter Marcello is played by two talents trained at the Accademia del Maggio: Min Kim and Qianming Dou, this last in the shows on November 16th and 25th. William Hernandez and Matteo Torcaso (performances on 16 and 25 November) give voice to the musician Schaunard while the philosopher Colline is played by Francesco Leone. Davide Piva plays the double role of Benoît, the owner of the house where the bohemians live, and the old and rich Alcindoro; closing the company are the Artists of the Coro Maggio, Leonardo Sgroi who plays the role of Parpignol, Luca Tamani in the role of a street vendor; Nicolò Ayroldi as a customs officer and Egidio Massimo Naccarato as the Sergeant of the customs officers. In this production of the Teatro del Maggio the scenes are by Tiziano Santi, the costumes by Angela Giulia Toso, the lights, shot by Emanuele Agliati, are by D.M. Wood. The maestro of the Coro del Maggio is Lorenzo Fratini, the maestro of the children’s choir of the Accademia del Maggio is Sara Matteucci.

Resumption of the show staged in September 2017 and then again between December 2019 and January 2020, applauded by both critics and the public, one of the most beloved works of the Italian repertoire returns to the stage of Maggio: La bohème, the masterpiece by Giacomo Puccini, with a libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica and inspired by Henri Murger’s novel Scènes de la vie de bohème. Directed by Bruno Ravella, revived on this occasion by Stefania Grazioli, the installation finds Rodolfo, Mimì, Marcello, Musetta and the other protagonists in late 19th century Paris: the cross-section of Rodolfo and Marcello’s attic, where it is set the first painting of the work is simple and essential in its spaces, while in the second painting the scene is dominated by a large semicircle full of lights, with the skeleton of the attic in the first painting becoming the structure of the famous Café Momus. The third painting is also minimalist in its structure: the setting of the scene set in La Barriera d’Enfer is made up of a small wooden building, a bar and a bench. The scenes, curated by Tiziano Santi, are well edited but not overly realistic, so as not to show a simple photographic portrait of the era in which the production is set, therefore aimed more at ‘suggesting’ the spaces rather than showing them as precisely in a photograph. Over the course of the long artistic history of the Theatre, Puccini’s masterpiece has been by far one of the most performed titles, starting way back in 1929, the year of the first performance in the May seasons: since then Bohème has been staged on almost 30 occasions, for a total of over 165 performances. The opera was written by Puccini between March 1893 and the turn of 1895, in a period where he had the opportunity to move between Milan, Torre del Lago and above all the Villa del Castellaccio near Uzzano, made available to him by Count Orsi Bertolini: here Puccini completed the second and third paintings, as he noted in a famous writing left on the walls of the villa.

Before each performance, presentations of the shows to the public are offered by Katiuscia Manetta, Maddalena Bonechi and Marco Cosci: the guides are held in the Foyer of the Zubin Mehta Hall and in the Galleria Foyer of the Great Hall approximately 45 minutes before the start of each performance recites.

The shows scheduled from 14 to 29 November 2023 are those directed by Bruno Ravella – and staged in Florence by Stefania Grazioli – welcomed with great warmth by the public and appreciated by critics in the performances of September 2017 and December 2019. “La bohème is a young opera that uses simple and lively language, reading the libretto you really get the impression that it was written yesterday, and no more than a hundred years ago” underlined Stefania Grazioli, commenting on the show she filmed “it speaks of great feelings and of friendship between these young bohemians who live a bit from day to day and, naturally, it talks about love: the first great youthful love, made up of kisses, shyness and jealousy. It is a work, as mentioned, simple, because the characters themselves describe each other in a fresh and direct way. It is clear that for them, despite their hardship, what really matters is not material wealth but artistic wealth. Even Mimì, who is not a poet, finds a poetic dimension of herself in the language of her nature. But Bohème also deals with the theme of death, which arrives finally, inevitably. What stands out most about the staging is the great fidelity shown towards the libretto and the amplification of everything relating to the staging, also with regards to the details that make up situations and scenes surrounding the main story; Furthermore, it is truly singular to note how this cast, made up of extremely talented young people, fits perfectly with this production, with absolutely poetic and traditional features, set at the end of the 19th century”.

On the podium of the Sala Grande – on his debut at the Maggio – maestro Giacomo Sagripanti: “Debuting at the Maggio and doing it with La bohème excites me very much; we work with two real casts, young and talented who, for a work like this, can really be a winning weapon. I tried to give an interpretation as close as possible to what Giacomo Puccini actually was as a composer: an open musician who was attentive to what was happening artistically around him and in other countries, capable of ‘getting infected’ by what was French culture or German and then modulated this artistic development in his scores. La bohème is an opera that I like to define as “colorful”, with a profoundly refined orchestration.
I also believe that, on a narrative level, Bohème is by far the ‘youngest’ opera written by Puccini, and I have above all tried to highlight this in the numerous moments in which, thanks to the music or what we see on stage, we notice what are the characteristics of youth, such as impulsiveness or being almost always carried away by emotions. Death is also present, of course, as the ending of the work is tragic. But even in this case the tragedy of Mimì’s death is told with an almost seraphic calm; this makes the moment of ‘detachment’ from the protagonist almost part of the natural flow of what we have seen, even if we who observe would never want to separate ourselves from Mimì. I believe that Bohème teaches us not only to experience certain emotions, but also and above all to reflect ourselves in them.”

While the staging therefore takes up the one already appreciated in the 2017 and 2019 shows, the singing company is almost completely different: as mentioned, in the part of Mimì we therefore have Mariangela Sicilia, who returns to the stage of Maggio almost two years away from the 2021 Rigoletto: “La bohème is an iconic masterpiece: a story that tells a glimpse of the lives of young people in which we all identified and an overwhelming music full of pathos that affects all spectators of every generation, even who is not accustomed to seeing the work. The figure of Mimì represents human fragility and the beauty that can be found even in the most difficult situations. Her story and her tragic end have undoubtedly made her one of the most iconic and unforgettable characters in the history of opera. She is truly the girl next door – in love with the neighbor who lives in the attic – but above all a young woman who wants to have new experiences, to live a life made up of simple and at the same time exciting daily days.
What she doesn’t see and doesn’t accept is being seriously ill. She discovers this by eavesdropping on a conversation between her lover Rodolfo and her best friend Marcello. We just have to wait a few months and she will return to Rodolfo’s attic, this time to die. Because no one wants to die alone. I am happy to return to singing a role that I love so much, in a classic and simple production like this one by Bruno Ravella and I am very happy to return to work with maestro Sagripanti with whom I have already had the opportunity to work, with Bohème, in Berlin few years ago”.

Galeano Salas, making his debut on the Florentine stage, is Rodolfo, the other protagonist of the story; speaking of the character, Salas underlined what is the most emotional aspect of the part: “One of the interesting aspects of playing Rodolfo is precisely linked to the moments where he sings, especially during the Picture: this also happens thanks to Mimì, who she has a way of using words that makes the moments where they are together – moments in which Rodolfo listens to her speak – very moving and I find the words she says equally moving, especially thinking about the fact that she is just a young woman going through through an illness that will lead to her death: this for me is what is most striking about the show, and following this the character of Rodolfo also changes: at the end of the story he is no longer the person in the first painting because these events change the his life (and that of the bohemians) forever.”
At their side, in the part of Musetta, Elisa Balbo, also making her debut on the stage of Maggio: “I think that this opera is truly a wonderful representation of youth: it is the story of a season therefore, that of carefreeness and dreams . Each character in La bohème tells something about youth and Musetta in this is described as poême vivant de jeunesse (living poetry of youth), that youth that wants to live all of life to the fullest, all of life possible, in the most immediate way possible. We see her playing with her loves, with her friends and with her Paris. She is an extraordinary character because in all her lightness in seeing and observing life, she is also accompanied by a wonderful sensitivity, as demonstrated by her closeness to Mimì especially in her last moments.”
In the part of the painter Marcello, however, Min Kim, a talent trained at the Accademia del Maggio and who, in the 2019 performances, had instead given voice to Schaunard: “I am really happy to be part of this beautiful production again, where I make my debut in part of Marcello after having played Schaunard in previous performances. Marcello is truly a fantastic character, always cheerful, friendly and energetic: he loves to joke and play with women but his heart, naturally, beats only for his beloved Musetta, who he continues to love even in the (frequent!) moments of arguments and bickering.”

William Hernandez, among the protagonists of the September 2017 edition in the role of Benoît and trained at the Accademia del Maggio, plays the musician Schaunard; Francesco Leone, making his debut on the stage of Maggio, is the philosopher Colline while Davide Piva plays both Benoît and the old Alcindoro. Leonardo Sgroi plays the role of Parpignol; Luca Tamani is a street vendor; closing the singing company are Nicolò Ayroldi in the role of Un doganiere and Egidio Massimo Naccarato as the Sergeant of the Customs Officers. Sgroi, Tamani, Ayroldi and Naccarato are artists of the Coro del Maggio.
The ‘parallel’ cast, equally young and talented, is made up of Aida Pascu (Mimì) in the shows on 16 and 25 November; Kang Wang (Rodolfo) in the performances of November 16, 22 and 25; Aleksandrina Mihaylova (Musetta) on 16 and 25 November and, again in the shows on 16 and 25 November, Qianming Dou (Marcello) and Matteo Torcaso (Schaunard), talents of the Accademia del Maggio.