San Francisco Operaʼs Pucciniʼs LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections California Content Standards Kindergarten through Grade 12

SOCIAL STUDIES PERSONAL CONNECTIONS Self-Identity. Family: Immediate & Extended. Caring relationship between friends. Roles of family members in your life and the choices you make. What are the differences in family life in France and America? Time: Past, Present, Future. Place: Neighborhood, City, State, Continent, World, Universe.

CIVICS Social Hierarchy: Class, Status. Ex. The weathy and The Bohemians. How is class indicated by the music, the costumes and other elements in La Bohème? Types of Government: Republic (France) and Democracy (United States). Religion: Ritual and symbols. Political events during Pucciniʼs time. Study the role of artists in society. The artist create change and set trends. How do artists influence how we see the world?

GEOGRAPHY The Operaʼs setting: Where is this place? What is this culture? Research as a center of culture Which neighborhoods are renowned as being areas of creativity in Paris? Map the locations mentioned in the . Examine where you live; how does your environment represent your lifestyle or personality? Location of Pucciniʼs birth. Where else did he live? Trace Pucciniʼs travels and draw a map of the different places where he lived. Where is Turin, Italy and where is Paris, France? Map the route.

SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections

The characters in Bohème live in the Latin Quarter in Paris. Draw a map of Paris showing where the Latin Quarter is. Detail the twenty arrondissements (districts) on your map. Why is the 5tharrondissement called the Latin Quarter? (only common language spoken in medieval time) In the beginning of Act II, they sing that the street sweepers are from the Gentilly. Where is Gentilly? Map it. What is it distance from Paris? What was happening in Gentilly in the 1840ʼs What is happening there today?

HISTORY Research when Puccini was born and the time period when Puccini lived. What are the differences and similarities between Pucciniʼs Europe and Europe today? What is a libretto? Who wrote the libretto to Bohème? What were their life stories? The libretto was based on a popular novel Scènes de la Vie de Bohème (Scenes of Bohemian Life), by Henri Murger. What was the origin of the stores in this novel? Was it a realistic portrayal of what was happening in Paris in the 1840ʼs? Explore the life of Henri Murger and his life as a bohemian. Why is he considered a bohemian? What other composer used the novelʼs story as the basis for his opera? What happened when Puccini and this composer became aware that the other was writing an opera on the same story at the same time? Which version is more popular today and why? How was Pucciniʼs Bohème initially received? Is it popular today? What does it mean to live a bohemian life? What was the origin of the use of the term and how has its use evolved? Examine class system during Pucciniʼs time. Research the development of La Bohème. Why would an artist be commissioned to write an opera? How do new get made today? Research the initial reception of La Bohème, the play and the opera. Why did the opera initially fail and how was it revised? Social structures and class relations • Examine healthcare system of Paris during Mimiʼs time. • Learn about the currency used in the time of La Bohème. How did artists make enough money to pay their ? What is a patron? • Consider how poverty impacts the main characters? (No health care, no heat, inadequate food) • Who is the King whose face is on their coins that they throw down in Act I? (remember that the story is set in Paris in the 1840ʼs) • In Act IV, Colline jokes that the King asked him to join his cabinet. What is the Kingʼs cabinet? Who would have been in his cabinet at the time? What is the likelihood that Colline would actually get asked to join the Kingʼs cabinet? The System and Laws • Research owner / tenant relations. How would a rental agreement with The Bohèmians be binding? • Research artist culture. What is intellectual property? Learn more about the advent of copyright laws. Women in La Bohème • Research the roles for women in France. • What were ideals of beauty in France during the time of La Bohème, for both men and women? What would have clothes looked like for upper and lower classes? • Compare and contrast artistic traditions in the United States and France. SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections

History of Opera • How Opera began, history of San Francisco Opera, history of the Adler Fellow Program. • Where was the first SF Opera production of La Bohème produced??

ACTIVITIES Map settings in which play and opera take place. Create timelines of events in opera; Pucciniʼs operas. What is the story of Pucciniʼs life? How many operas did he write? Which ones became famous? Research the story of La Bohème. Was the story based on a real character? What was happening in the world when the opera premiered in Turin, Italy 1896? Create an organizational chart of the character relationships in La Bohème. Research French fashion during the period of the opera. How does clothing indicate culture and status? Pick another time period in which to set La Bohème. Research and design costumes and sets to reflect trends, society at that time. Research the culture of the artists in Paris. What was their role in society? Who would be The Bohèmians of today? What kind of social background or class did The Bohèmians come from? What would have been Mimiʼs class, social status as a seamstress? What were ideals of beauty France and America, for both men and women at the time of the opera? What would have clothes looked like for upper and lower classes, in France and America? How might an artist like Rodolfo or a seamstress like Mimi received their education during that time? What are the jobs of the characters in the opera? Examine jobs in Paris during the time of the opera. Write a letter from one character to another using the writing materials used at the time of La Bohème (quill pens, wax seals, parchment).

SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections