On November 8th, our class traveled to the city to see La Bohème at the MET Opera. I didn’t know what to expect as I only read a few chapters from Henri Murger’s book. It was difficult to understand the opera as it was sung in Italian, but I was able to pick up on the characters and certain plot points.
A few days later, I watched the movie, Rent. I enjoyed Rent a lot more than La Bohème because it was easier to understand. In Rent, I really liked the film the character Mark created because it captured the life of the artists and the poverty in New York City. It was slightly emotional when Mark showed the film as he reunited with his artist friends after they resuscitated their friend Mimi, who was unconscious. Additionally, I liked the music in Rent, especially “Seasons of Love.”
While I was watching Rent, I noticed it was inspired by La Bohème. For example, both take place in major cities. La Bohème is set in Paris and Rent is set in New York City. Additionally, both La Bohème and Rent depict the state of poverty, the lives of artists, and themes of love.
The character names were similar for the most part. Mimì from La Bohème was Mimi in Rent. Her love interest was Rodolfo, a poet in La Bohème, who is Roger, a songwriter in Rent. They met in a similar way, as she asked them both to light her candle.
Both La Bohème and Rent depict illness, but there were noticeable differences in who died. In La Bohème, Mimì died, but in Rent, Angel died. Another notable difference is that Rent highlights the fight against HIV and AIDS, as both Mimi and Roger have HIV.
While I did not enjoy La Bohème as much as Rent, it was still a worthwhile experience to see an opera. I find it unlikely that I would go to an opera in the future, so now I can say I have seen an opera before.
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