Last Day for Pittsburgh Opera’s ‘La Bohème’ at the Benedum (Sun., 10/26/25)

LA BOHÈME by Giacomo Puccini, with libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Pittsburgh Opera.

2) A little extra publicity never hurts. Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème, a longtime audience favorite, gets an added boost in modern times by being known as the opera that inspired the musical Rent. See (and hear) what made the original popular, as Pittsburgh Opera stages La Bohème. The opera is loved for its music, of course—the romantic duet O soave fanciulla (“O sweet girl”) comes across wonderfully even without English translation—and the story is richly engaging. It’s set during the 1830s in Paris, where the term “bohemian” was first applied to artistic types living at the fringes of society. Puccini knew the lifestyle from his younger days, and for La Bohème he worked with a pair of skilled librettists, Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Together they crafted an opera that’s an emotional roller coaster, following a group of young bohemians through hilarious escapades mixed with the tensions and perils of living at the edge. Singing the lead roles for Pittsburgh Opera are tenor Daniel O’Hearn as Rodolfo and the heralded South African soprano Vuvu Mpofu as Mimi. In Italian with English supertitles. 2 p.m. Benedum Center, 237 7th St., Cultural District. (MV)

Share on Social Media