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This Saturday, when we went to watch La Boheme, I found it to be a pleasant experience. The cast was incredibly talented, the costume design and set design were exceptional, and I was truly shocked when they brought out live animals. I also really loved the second act, because it was so crazy seeing so many people on the stage, and all of them were doing their own thing. I lost track of the main characters sometimes because I was so focused on watching what the background characters were doing. However, I found the plot to be quite uninteresting, and I was not incredibly invested in the relationship between Mimi and Rodolfo. 

By contrast, the plot of Rent was far more dynamic, and I enjoyed how the characters appeared to be layered, like how Rents Mimi suffered from a drug addiction and HIV, rather than TB, and we could actually see her struggle. I also found that the extended cast aside from Mimi and Rodolfo in La Boheme was entirely forgettable, while in Rent characters appear to actually all have storylines. The storylines were emotionally impactful too, unlike La Boheme. For example, I was actually invested in the relationship between Tom Collins and Angel, and was sad when Angel died. My annoyance for Maureen and her scandalous ways was also very real. I think as a person, Maureen’s counterpart in La Boheme was preferable, but Maureen was a better written character nonetheless. In La Boheme, I was not incredibly moved by Mimi’s death, because her character was mostly bland, and didn’t really show me much of her personality. However, Mimi’s survival in Rent was more impactful because I was actually concerned with whether she will live or die, and Angels death was far sadder than Mimi’s in La Boheme, even though Mimi was a main character. I also enjoyed that we could see how the depths of the characters passions for what they do, and how it motivates them to continue even when they are in absolute poverty, rather than in La Boheme where we don’t see much of the casts work. All in all, I preferred Rent, but I do want to say I thought Angel being named Angel was kind of on the nose. 

Last weekend, I was asked to go to see my very first Opera performance at Lincoln Center. In general, I can’t say that it’s my kind of performance; while the soundtrack and the level of effort the participants put into making it run smoothly were both undeniable, I couldn’t immerse myself into it no matter how hard I tried for a variety of reasons. For one, (although this is no one’s fault in particular, I’m sure Opera tickets aren’t known for their affordability), I constantly had to deal with the feeling of not being entirely present, simply due to the sheer distance from the stage. The view itself was fine, I just felt..kind of far from all of the action. It certainly didn’t help that I didn’t figure out how to turn captions on until well after the first segment, so I had to constantly keep up using the very little Italian that I knew. That kind of undermined the lack of a smooth progression of the plot that I felt consistently throughout the play. The few brief references to France’s state as a country around the time were pretty interesting, however, even if they didn’t really contribute to a cohesive narrative as much as the abject poverty the characters constantly wrestled with. Overall, while the Opera was no doubt exciting to watch, I couldn’t really appreciate it for what it was trying to say or do.


Now, onto the comparison between the opera and Rent. In general, I found the latter to be much more readily applicable to our existing social context, and, more generally, reality. While watching Rent, I actually felt like I was watching something that could have happened in recent, living memory. I guess the whole “East Village, struggling to make rent and even survive, gritty” nature of the movie turned out to be more relatable than 1840s Paris, where tuberculosis ran rampant. The general sense of community that each character was able to experience also helped tremendously, as, unlike in the play where it felt more like everyone had, at least partially, their own separate lives and plots, there was a much clearer sense of community. That’s part of the appeal Rent had in my case; additionally, I enjoyed how much more fluid the movie actually felt, particularly when placed against the Opera. It feels like Rent was also much more accurate in reflecting the typical lives which artists experience. Obviously, there were time constraints, but it felt like each of the individual parts were overly discrete and completely independent of one another. Angel’s death was also far sadder than Mimi’s, which, honestly, came out of nowhere besides very flimsy foreshadowing in the form of a cough in the Winter.

As you can probably conclude, I enjoyed Rent far more than I did the Opera. It felt infinitely more “real” and relevant to the times we live in, in clear contrast to the Orleanist-era play I experienced, and also allowed for far more attachment to the characters.

Last Sunday, we went to Lincoln Center to see the opera, La Bohème. The stage looked incredibly cool; it looked like a TV screen, and the background made it feel like you were actually there. Additionally, I liked how there were subtitles for each seat; privacy screens that covered them and it made the room extremely dark.

The scenes themselves were more interesting than I thought they would be, but I don’t think I would go to another one. I wish it were in English because it was a bit hard to watch what they were doing and read the subtitles at the same time.

Comparing La Bohème and Rent, I noticed many differences. To begin, a big one was the time period and location: La Boheme was set in Paris in the 1890s, while Rent took place in New York City, maybe in the 1980s. The main characters remained as poor artists who refused to pay rent; however, in La Bohème, they quickly pushed the issue away by distracting the landlord while in Rent, this event continued throughout the whole movie.

Both versions focused on the love and the strain of illnesses. However, in La Bohème, Mimi was suffering from Tuberculosis while in Rent, Mimi was suffering from AIDS. Mimi ended up passing away in La Bohème, while in Rent, she ended up surviving.

Another difference I noticed was Joanne. In both versions, Musetta/Maureen were known to be a flirt. However, in La Bohème, Marcello got back together with her, while in Rent, Mark didn’t get back together with her because Maureen was with Joanne. Also, Roger tried to avoid Mimi because he missed his last lover, who died from AIDS. While in La Bohème, Rodolpho was very quick to get with Mimi as he yearned for love.

In conclusion, there were many similarities and differences between La Bohème and Rent. I truly enjoyed experiencing both; it was my first time going to an opera, and I loved watching the movie Rent.

I thought it was cool that Rich was able to come in and talk to us about tattooing. I wasn’t a huge fan of the overall history of tattooing, but I really appreciated hearing his history with the art, and him sharing his experience with us. I also appreciated him giving the time to answer our questions, because I’m looking to get tattoos in the future and He was really insightful and helpful in informing us about all of the possibilities.He was really nice, and super generous for zooming in and teaching us about tattooing.

I enjoyed both Rent and La Boheme, but I personally enjoyed La Boheme better because I feel as though it stuck to the plot of the book more compared to the movie which was tailored for modern times. Both the opera and the movie shared many similarities such as the fact that both were based on people trying to figure out life. They both showed the characters finding their moments through the troubling times. They are both set in times where they are facing poverty in the big cities such as Paris and New York City. With that being said, the two pieces have their differences as well. La Boheme is set in the 19th century where one of the main characters Mimi is battling with tuberculosis which in the end leads to her death. Rent is set in the 20th century where Mimi was struggling with HIV and addicted to drugs and survived as a way to give the audience hope. The movie was modernized as a way to connect with the issues we face in our society.

The day at the opera was so fun because it was the first time I experienced an opera. We got to the Lincoln Center, which was beautiful and when we entered, I felt like I entered a different world. Everyone there was older than us, so it felt like I was a little out of place, but younger people should enjoy the pleasures of the opera as well. Once we got to our seats, I realized how far up we were which made it sort of difficult to see that stage. The opera itself was beautiful with the actors being so talented, the sets being perfectly put together, and the energy being just right. Overall, the opera was a great day in the city and I would do it again.

On Saturday, we had the amazing opportunity of seeing the opera known as La Boheme. The opera was performed at the Lincoln Center, which I thought was very beautiful and elegant. Although it was hard to see some of the action on the stage and actually seeing who was performing what as our seats were higher up in the venue, it was still such an amazing experience.

Like many of the Macaulay Seminar trips we had attended over the course of this semester, I had no idea on what to expect from this, especially considering this is an opera. I always believed that an opera was a very serious and dramatic performance, however La Boheme seemed to reject that belief I had almost immediately. The opera began with a very comedic, in my opinion, act, with the four friends in the impoverished apartment. I really liked the acting and motions of this act, especially when the landlord had come into the apartment. I also believed that the first act did a very good job on setting up the plot of the rest of the story. Being that the story is based on struggling artists dealing with a Paris winter, I knew there was going to be some hardship that was going to come, even though there was lots of comedic points. I also thought when Mimi had entered, it was such a beautiful movement. I was really stunned by the actresses voice and thought it was very beautiful. I also liked the simplicity of how Rodolfo and Mimi fell in love at first sight when Mimi’s candle went out and could not find her key.

The second act was also very comedic and funny, showing the friendship of the poor artists and how they incorporated Mimi into the friend group setting at the cafe. I loved the theatrics of everything in this act, especially the animals coming out (I didn’t even know that was possible). I thought that Musetta was a very funny character, even though I was confused on what was occurring with her and her love story half the time.

The third act of La Boheme may have been my favorite of the acts. I was not expecting the scenery and setting to be so extravagant on stage. The fake snow was such a nice element and was a wow-factor for me. This was also what I was more so expecting of an opera, being very dramatic and emotional. It had a much more somber mood, as Mimi has fallen ill and in a conflict over Rodolfo and Marcello. It was also a very emotional moment when Rodolfo admits that he and Mimi’s love is falling apart because of his fear of her death because of his impoverished state.

The fourth act was an effective way of ending the opera and tying everything together. It’s evident that Rodolfo misses Mimi when he is back in his apartment and wishing that he could see her again. Suddenly, he finds out that Mimi has fallen ill as Musetta comes up to the apartment and needs help to bring Mimi, who has admitted that she has been thinking of Rodolfo. At first I believed that the ending was too simple, but I truly believe it was such a perfect way to end the story. I thought it was a very interesting way to show Mimi dying in an unnoticed way, especially with Rodolfo being the last one to realize she has died. It was also very emotional to see Rodolfo laying on Mimi at the end.

Rent, which is the musical, or the movie musical, based on the La Boheme opera. The musical/movie musical has the same themes as the actual opera, which was evident with the characters and the names correlations, such as Mimi in the opera and Mimi in the musical. In both versions, Mimi falls in love at first sight, in the musical being Roger. However, in this musical version, Mimi is struggling with AIDS and drug addiction, while Mimi in the opera was ill with tuberculosis. It seemed that Mimi in the musical version was a much more complex character, which is obvious as there needs to be greater depth in a movie version. Roger, who Mimi falls in love with, is a struggling artist, like Rodolfo, who has HIV and is best friends with Mark, or Marcello in the opera.

La Boheme and Rent also share many similar themes but execute these themes in different ways. The opera and the musical portray young artists in the Bohemian lifestyle, being known as the struggling artists who value their creativity. Another similar theme is the complexities of relationships, shown in romantic relationships and friendships. The main characters are a circle friends, which the musical scenes reminded me of the second act of the opera when everyone is together in a very chaotic scene. Like Mimi and Rodolfo, Mimi and Roger have a very complex relationship that has conflicts. Mimi and Rodolfo very subjected to conflicts and tension as it was suspected that there was jealousy and intolerance in the relationship. In Rent, Mimi and Roger have a much more complex relationship, as Roger has serious trauma from a past relationship, in which he contracted HIV and had to face his girlfriend killing herself. It was also apparent in similarity to the opera as Roger showed some jealousy when Mimi and Benny had a strange dynamic going on. Similarly, Roger is also afraid of Mimi dying when she becomes seriously ill. However, one of the main differences in this musical/movie is that instead of Mimi dying, Angel, who is the main loss and shows the toll of AIDS on the human body.

Even though Rent is based on La Boheme, it is very much a different story line. Rent is based in New York City in 1990s and shows the theme of addiction, AIDS, and cultural issues. It can be seen as a movie based on activism with its many “urban” themes. La Boheme, on the other hand, is based in Paris in the 1800s and shows more love struggles as the basis of the plot. However, the opera shows the illness to be tuberculosis, which is of what Mimi dies from. Both versions of the story are rooted in relationships and major struggles, being that like is very fragile and that though there are many struggles and conflicts, it is also important to have some relation or community, as seen with the friend groups being important on both stories.

Having seen Rent and La Boheme, as well as reading “Scenes from the Latin Quarter,” I feel like the time periods in which these were written had a lot of influence on the story. Although Rent and La Boheme have the same source material, they all have minor differences in the way that the story is delivered to the audience. It’s kind of hard to describe, but I also think that the way the story is delivered influenced how I interpreted each portrayal.

I think that the opera version of La Boheme is probably the most difficult to really “relate to,” mostly because it’s an opera and everyone else in the audience dressed in very fancy clothes. The audience isn’t really students, in my opinion, but it can still be enjoyed by different demographics. It just changes how the story is experienced by the audience, which is why I feel like this version is very different from the other two. I felt like “Scenes from the Latin Quarter” was more palatable, so to speak. It might be because the original book was in written form and the subtitles didn’t even work for me until Act IV at the opera, but it just felt different to me. The atmosphere at the Met Opera house really changed how I experienced the story, and it really felt more dramatic and exaggerated than Rent and “Scenes from the Latin Quarter.”

I noticed that the story of La Boheme is more dramatic and focused on Rodolfo and Mimi, rather than being a collection of short stories like “Scenes from the Latin Quarter” was. The story itself is nice, but I didn’t really like the back and forth between characters across different scenes, and the fact that all of it was sung made it get old really fast. I did enjoy watching La Boheme, but I felt like there was the same issue with the Arpino where I was more interested in the music than most of the performance. I can enjoy the singing and pit orchestra on their own, but the story kind of fell flat in this style for me. The part at the end where Rodolfo spoke rather than sang his line in response to the doctor really felt emotional though, and I thought that part was really good.

In terms of storytelling, I liked Rent more than La Boheme. It was dramatic but in a very “New York” way, which I thought was fitting for the setting of the movie. I was initially a bit skeptical about converting “Scenes from the Latin Quarter” into a more modern setting like New York, especially after seeing La Boheme. I am also not a movie person, so I thought I wouldn’t enjoy it that much. However, I really liked Rent. The original characters in “Scenes from the Latin Quarter” were made into different ones for the movie, but I still feel like I could see aspects of the source material in how the characters were portrayed in the movie. While La Boheme focused on romance, I think that Rent really captured the struggle of everyday life for artists and writers, and the transformation of this into a modern setting was also really good. Not only did it tell the story, but it also expanded on the issues discussed in “Scenes of the Latin Quarter” by adding commentary about the HIV/AIDS epidemic as well as queer relationships and how these people live their lives.

I personally enjoyed Rent more than La Boheme, but I feel like it was nicer to have experienced both and base my interpretations and opinions off of that, rather than only see one version and simply disliking it. I think watching Rent did make up for La Boheme feeling “boring” because it was more modern and translated well to me, which helped me digest the story better and be able to appreciate La Boheme more as well. If I only watched La Boheme, I would have just focused more on the music and forgotten the plot altogether.

Upon finding out that we were going to an opera, I was super excited. I love watching people preform and opera is such a powerful art/singing style so it was really cool to experience it. I think it was also funny because we differed so much from the usually age range that went to the opera but I hope younger people can romanticize the opera and show up for more of these experiences because I can definitely say this experiences was truly one of one.

Upon walking into the building I was shocked by the beautiful chandelier and walk ways it was so surreal that just two blocks down was the subway, dirty streets, just regular nyc. Maybe that’s what makes it such a cool experience. The story telling aspect of the opera wasn’t necessarily my favorite in comparison to the movie or the book but the scenes were so beautiful. Whether it was the fake snow or the house and back drop, all the scene set ups were so stunning. I also kind of blame this on the chairs we had but I think my eyes being strained the whole time to see who was speaking also took away from the whimsy but I still was captivated the whole time. I think now looking back the opera Mimi’s personality was kind of washed out and I wish we got to see more of her as a opposed to side plots.

In terms of the movie I found it a lot more heart warming and it does defy some of the opera endings which was cool to see. I think overall the movie does bring in the modern twists that give it a more understandable plot as opposed to the opera but I think the opera also has the setting and the time limit and a bunch of other factors that make it it’s own unique experience. Overall I found both versions to be beautifully acted and portrayed and I think I also just really like musicals and performances so i was sold from the beginning.

I like how Rich went into detail about different figures in the history of tattooing in the United States and how they were influenced by different stigmas surrounding the practice in the past. I found it interesting that people would tattoo on others, and those people would then show off their new tattoos as a form of advertisement. This was basically happening for years when people believed that tattoos were associated with prostitution and gang activity, which I think would have added to the whole “underground” vibe that Rich mentioned was really important to him. Rich really made it seem like tattooing was for the love of the craft rather than for money, which I think really connects to the material that we cover in this class.

I don’t really like the idea of getting tattoos on myself, but it was really interesting to hear about its history from Rich’s perspective. I already had some prior knowledge about the history of tattooing, but it wasn’t anything as specific as what Rich discussed.