(In Italian)
Cast
Conductor, CLARENCE RAYBOULD
Performed by THE ROYAL OPERA COVENT GARDEN COMPANY
Relayed from The Prince of Wales Theatre, Birmingham

La Boheme means 'Bohemia' in the poetical sense. The plot is, for the most part, drawn from Murger's novel, 'Scenes de la vie de Boheme', which relates incidents in the happy-go-lucky artists' quarter of Paris about a century ago. Puccini's Bohemians consist of Colline, the philosopher, Marcel, the painter, Rudolph, the poet, and Schaunard, the musician, who are inseparable comrades-at their favourite haunt, at the Cafe Momus, they were known as 'The Four Musketeers '.
La Boheme is perhaps the most popular of Puccini's operas throughout the world, its skilful mixture of humour and pathos providing, no doubt, one of its strongest attractions.
It was first performed at Turin in 1896 and received its Knglish premiere at Manchester in the following year by the Carl Rosa Company.
It is interesting to note that La Boheme was not well received by the Italian critics. By one eminent critic the music was dismissed as that 'which can delight but rarely move'. He concluded his notice with the following inaccurate forecast: 'La Boheme,' even as it leaves little impression on the minds of the audience, will leave no great trace upon the history of our lyric theatre, and it will be well if the composer will return to the straight road of Art, persuading himself that this has been a brief deviation.

The Royal Opera Covent Garden Company comes from Covent Garden for a week's visit to the Prince of Wales Theatre, Birmingham, opening with La Boheme and closing with Koanga, by Delius