Giacomo Puccini’s opera based on Henri Murger’s Scènes de la vie de bohème is La bohème.
The opera follows young artists living in Paris, especially the poet Rodolfo and the seamstress Mimì. Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa wrote the Italian libretto, adapting episodes and characters from Murger’s 1851 novel and earlier serialized stories.
La bohème premiered at Turin’s Teatro Regio on 1 February 1896, conducted by Arturo Toscanini. Although its first performance received a mixed response, the opera soon became one of the most frequently performed works in the repertory.
The setting is often remembered as romantic bohemian Paris, but the story also emphasizes poverty, illness, friendship, and loss. Mimì’s death from tuberculosis gives the opera its tragic conclusion. Leoncavallo wrote a separate opera titled La bohème around the same literary source, so the composer’s name is important when identifying Puccini’s version.