2 History Final Paper Joanna

Page 1 of 11 Running head: “La Bohème and Rent” Opera on Broadway: La Bohème and Rent Zheng Tang Case Western Reserve University [email protected] May 4, 2009 Page 2 of 11 La Bohème and Rent When people speak of Jonathan Larson’s Rent, they also have to mention an Italian opera, composer Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème, because although these two operas were composed in different periods, they share a close relationship. This paper will explore the similarities and differences by comparing and contrasting the following aspects between these two famous operas: origin and meaning, works, story and characters, musical features, and finally the idea of comedy and tragedy. Origin and meaning These two operas are based on “Scènes de la vie de Bohème, ” by Henri Murger, who was a French novelist and poet (Parker, R., 1986). The word “bohemian” has come to mean “a person with artistic or literary interests who disregards conventional standards of behavior (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2006).” It comes from the French bohémien, meaning from Bohême, Bohemia. The modern usage stems from the unconventional lifestyle of Gypsies, who were erroneously believed to have come from that region of Europe. Rent and La Bohème both focus on the plight of artists in cities that are reputed to celebrate them, New York in the case of Rent, and Paris for La Bohème. Both shows focus on the poverty and dangers of a life lived away from conventional standards, though Rent shows an even bleaker existence in 20 th century New York than does La Bohème of 19 th century Paris. Both operas simplified the plot of Murger’s original novel, but still tell the vivid stories of these people’s lives: they are fond of fun, but sometimes lack the money necessary to eat. Yet once they get enough money, they enjoy life to the fullest amount possible, even in the shadow of disease. Page 3 of 11 Works La Bohème is the third of Puccini’s operas. It failed to meet with anything more than mild interest when originally performed and conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini in 1896 (Budden, J., 2002). Since then, however, its popularity has increased significantly; becoming a part of the standard Italian repertory, as well as one of the most frequently performed operas internationally. In addition, it has won a place as a masterpiece of the Verismo Operas. Operas like this usually describe poor people’s lives. The melody and rhythm both imitate the tone with which people speak, both up and down. La Bohème does not follow in the operatic style of Giuseppe Verdi, but still maintains the style of traditional Italian opera. Rent is a modern rock opera (Larson, J., 1997), and has been noted for exploring serious social issues like multiculturalism, addiction, homophobia, and AIDS. The 1996 rock-opera is loosely based on Puccini’s 1893 opera version of La Bohème. Composer and writer Jonathan Larson wished to update the setting and story of the classic opera to modern day in order to tell the story of the continuing tragedies of bohemian existence in America. While many plot details and themes are changed from the inspirational source, Rent and La Bohème possess many connecting similarities, which serve to enrich the performances of the modern musical for fans of the original opera. Story and characters La Bohème tells the observer of two kinds of love, though most of its time specifically follows a seamstress named Mimì, and a poet, Rodolfo. They fall in love, though Rodolfo later wants to leave Mimì because of her flirtatious lifestyle. Later, he finally confesses his fears that she is slowly being consumed by a deadly illness. Rodolfo, in his poverty, can do little to help Mimì, and hopes that his pretended unkindness will inspire her to seek another, wealthier suitor. However, Mimì is terminally ill, and Rodolfo feels guilty since their life together has likely worsened her health even further. They reunite for a brief moment at the end before Mimì dies. Page 4 of 11 In contrast, Rent is a love story between Mimi, a club dancer, and Roger, a songwriter. It uses a group of impoverished young artists and musicians, struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side during the thriving days of the Bohemian Alphabet City. The shadow of AIDS is cast over the entire story to serve as a background. While these two operas share attractive stories, vivid roles, and make terminal disease a central theme, they differ in their time periods, the roles characters take, and the disease used to move the story forward. La Bohème distinguishes itself not because the characters are anything special, but rather by the vivid and expressive music. Mimì and Rodolfo are ordinary people, but with full and engaging stories. They take care of each other. Mimì’s arrival in his life came as a complete surprise to Rodolfo, as well as their falling in love at the first sight. Modern audiences may find the speed at which their relationship develops to be too fast, but from the characters’ viewpoint, it makes sense to move quickly, given their shared plight. In Act 1, Rodolfo's aria Che gelida manina , "What a cold little hand," sets the stage for what follows. Mimì wants to find someone to help her to light a candle. When Rodolfo first meets Mimì, he does a double-take at her kindness and beauty. Not knowing how to make her stay longer, he decides to blow out the candle. When he finds Mimì’s key, he hides it instead of giving it to her. Then when he finally does hand it over, he feels her cold hand. Rodolfo did not expect Mimì’s hand to be so cold, leading to a very clear and vivid A-flat in the music when they touch. Rodolfo finds her attractive, but such a cold hand causes him to say, “Your hand is so cold, let me warm it,” which then leads into the song. This aria shines as a bright spot in the opera, as well as one of the most frequently performed arias. A similar episode was written into Rent, as Mimi wants someone who could help her light a candle, but in her case, she will use it for drugs. There are plenty of similar episodes between Rent and La Bohème, but in addition to the similar plots, Jonathan Larson writes new meaning into the story as well. By choosing to use AIDS, a disease which could lead to discrimination and isolation, instead of tuberculosis, Larson gains the freedom to add Page 5 of 11 the characters Joanne and Angel, allowing him to enrich the story. Not only are the diseases different, but the end result of Rent differs from that of La Bohème, as well, in that Mimi does not die as she does in La Bohème. Instead, Mimi wakes up from her fatigue and element-caused coma. Though people are filled with an enterprising spirit in Rent, the plots are hopeless from the beginning. Some are infected with AIDS, others are drug addicts, but everybody lives close to the edge, which may explain why Larson gives the story a happy ending. Critics may not accept this, given that at present, AIDS is a terminal illness, and drug users often die prematurely as well. As a result, characters like Mimi, Roger, and Collins are not expected to live long. However, audiences who are familiar with Larson’s life will understand why he changed the result. He was healthy, but a lot of good friends had HIV, like Matt O'Grady, his friend from his home town (Larson, J., 1997). Writing Rent provided a way for him to make sense of the experience. To be a young bohemian artist, just like the characters he created, Larson had a reason to write good wishes into Rent, so he gave it a happier ending. This result may reduce the drama’s powerful meaning, but it also expresses Larson’s wish for a good life. Even in miserable existences, he maintains a sense of hope. One could say that Rent was like an awakening for Broadway. Most shows from the prior ten to fifteen years kept the same musical style, and except for these unpopular works, there were almost no rock operas beyond reprisals of earlier, more popular shows. Rent changed this, drawing people to the theater with its themes of sincere friendship, true love, and energetic music and dance. Operas like this still remain rare worldwide. At its core, Rent tells a sad story, and after ten years of active productions, it was won admiration for its description of the plights suffered by artists, club dancers, those with AIDS, and gay people. However, the story tells us to share our love and support with those suffering from adversity. Though they have their differences, we say La Bohème and Rent share a close relationship, not only because of their similar stories, but also their similar characters. The table below shows more sharply how these two operas contrast between each other. Page 6 of 11 La Bohème Rent • Main characters are: • Main characters are: • Mimi Márquez, an exotic dancer with • Mimì, a seamstress with tuberculosis HIV • Roger Davis, a songwriter who also has • Rodolfo, a poet HIV • Mark Cohen, a filmmaker • Marcello, a painter • Maureen Johnson, a bisexual performance artist • Musetta, a singer • Angel Dumott Schunard, a gay drag queen percussionist with AIDS • Schaunard, a musician • Tom Collins, a gay philosophy professor and anarchist with AIDS • Colline, a philosopher • Joanne Jefferson, a lawyer, who is a lesbian (also partially based on • Alcindoro, a state councilor Marcello) • Benjamin ‘Benny’, the local landlord • Benoit, a landlord and a former roommate of Roger, Mark, Collins, and Maureen • Rodolfo and Marcello warm themselves in • Mark and Roger warm themselves in the the first scene by burning Rodolfo’s five-act first scene by burning Mark’s screenplays drama.

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