As a part of my research for La Boheme, I've been reading the source text: Scenes de la vie boheme (by Henri Mourger), upon which the opera is based. In the first place, it makes for fantastic reading. Once you get past the florid 19th century prose, the content of the book is really fun and lighthearted. It doesn't follow much of a coherent plot; rather, it chronicles the various adventures of the four friends Rodolphe, Marcel, Colline and Schaunard... in exactly the style that we hear in the first act of the opera.
The four men are witty, playful, and positively cheerful in their abject poverty. It's been something of a parallel of real life lately, though at least I haven't had to outwit any creditors!
Yes folks, we're back to considering doing laundry in the bathtub again. In all our efforts to save up money for Bryn's gig in Austria, we're really stretching to keep those ends meeting. Bryn is giving a fundraising concert on June 6th, in Carmel, Indiana. If you can make it, please do! In the meantime, I've added a donations feature to this website. If you ever feel the urge to support the arts, the singing Vertesis are a pretty good way to do it!
