Puccini: La Bohème cover art

Puccini: La Bohème

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Puccini: La Bohème

By: Thomson Smillie
Narrated by: David Timson
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £5.99

Buy Now for £5.99

About this listen

La Bohème is one of the three operas - the others are Carmen and Aida - believed to be the most popular ever written. In the case of La Bohème the reason is that it virtually defines the term "romantic". The poignant story of Mimì and Rodolfo is told in music of such tender beauty, allied, as always, to Puccini’s intuition of what works in the theatre. The result is an opera that readily appeals to our emotions and senses.

"Che gelida manina - Your tiny hand is frozen..." The moment when Mimì and Rodolfo meet and first touch is one of the very great moments of opera - created by the master hand of Giacomo Puccini, who unerringly trod the fine line between romance and sentimentality.

Thomson Smillie outlines the background to the opera, explaining how painstakingly the composer worked to achieve this effect. An absorbing introduction both for those approaching La Bohème for the first time and for those wanting to know a bit more than just the big arias.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2002 Naxos AudioBooks (P)2002 Naxos AudioBooks Music Opera Romance

Editor reviews

One of the most popular operas to ever be written, La Bohème combines high-spirited antics with one of the most tender and romantic scenes ever performed onstage. Through narrator David Timson's graceful performance, Thomson Smillie outlines the background to the opera, explaining how Puccini created its exquisite moments of beauty, expertly treading the fine line between romance and sentimentality. Listeners approaching La Bohème as novices will find themselves experiencing a moment of frisson when Mimì and Rodolfo meet for the first time.
All stars
Most relevant
A good short introduction before going to the theatre to listen to this opera for the first time.

Good introduction

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.