‘La Bohème’ comes to the big screen through The Met: Live in HD

The Metropolitan Opera’s performance of “La Bohème” will be livestreamed at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish Nov. 8.  

Sung in Italian with subtitles, Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème” is the story of four struggling bohemians — a poet, a painter, a musician and a philosopher — living together in Paris. Their lives are changed forever one freezing Christmas Eve when a girl named Mimi knocks on their door looking to re-light her candle and she and the poet, Rodolfo, fall in love. The rush of love at first sight soon gives way to something much darker — it becomes clear that Mimi is desperately ill and that the impoverished Rodolfo faces the harsh realities of life as he tries to save her.  

With its enchanting setting and spellbinding score, “La Bohème” is as timeless as it is heartbreaking. Its universal themes of love, friendship, and the joys and sorrows of life, combined with Puccini’s captivating and emotionally resonant music, continue to make the story relatable to modern audiences and served as the inspiration for “Rent” and “Moulin Rouge.”  

A prime example of verismo, “La Bohème” focuses on the realistic lives of ordinary people while touching on contemporary issues like poverty, medical access and the hustle to survive.  

Soprano Juliana Grigoryan is the feeble seamstress Mimi, opposite tenor Freddie De Tommaso as the ardent poet Rodolfo. Rounding out the cast is Heidi Stober as Musetta, Lucas Meachem as Marcello, Sean Michael Plumb as Schaunard, Jongmin Park as Colline, and Donald Maxwell as Benoit/Alcindoro. Keri-Lynn Wilson conducts this classic production. 

Famed Italian director, designer and producer, Franco Zeffirelli’s (1923-2019), permanent collection of picture-perfect sets created for the 1981 Met production of “La Bohème” have been refurbished for this production. Zeffirelli’s blend of authentic details and grand production continues to resonate with today’s audiences. 

The Met: Live in HD experience offers exclusive behind-the-scenes content and cast interviews. Food and beverage will be available for purchase during the performance. Please go to www.whitefishtheatreco.org to read about the entire Met Opera Live in HD season or call 406-862-5371 for more information. 

Puccini’s enduring story of young love, friendship and the struggles of artistic life, begins at 11 a.m. with an approximate run time of three hours and 30 minutes with two intermissions. 

Tickets will be sold at the doors, which open at 10:30 a.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students, paid by cash or check only. Scholarships are available for students. 

The Met: Live in HD program is presented by the Whitefish Theatre Company, in collaboration with the Whitefish Performing Arts Center.