To The Last Page

Henry Murger’s original 1851 novel, which was to be the basis for operas by Leoncavallo and, more famously by Puccini, is rather different in form and content from the focus of the opera (in Puccini at least) on the relationship between Rodolfo and Mimi. The four bohemians are indeed all there however; Rodolphe, Schaunard, Colline and Marcel, four starving artists, a poet, a musician, a philosopher and a painter, who come to share accommodation, gather for drinks at the Café Momus, help each other out when necessary and encourage each other in appreciation of their respective talents, confident that their artistry will be eventually reach its public and be handsomely rewarded. The playful attempts of these four men to entertain each other while struggling to make enough money to survive and eat in the meantime, indulging the occasional extravagance that is beyond their means only make it through to Puccini’s opera as colourful background scenes, but they are the main focus of Murger’s ...