La bohème revival
Puccini
20 September 2016
Spiegeltent at Night, Barkers Pool, Sheffield
Sung in English
Opera on Location are delighted to revive their 2014 sell-out production of Puccini's La bohème for one performance as part of the University of Sheffield's Festival of the Mind.
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Rodolfo, a highly educated poet from a wealthy family has found himself disinherited, disenfranchised and squatting in a once grand stately home, now slowly crumbling around him. Desperately striving to maintain the pretence of a chosen bohemian lifestyle, along with his companions, Schaunard, Marcello and Colline, their drug addled days merge from one into another.
However, upon a chance encounter with the mysterious and beautiful woman of the night; Mimi, Rodolfo's life is changed forever. A brief, hedonistic affair ends in sorrow and tragedy. There seems to be no room in their world of hallucinations, sex and poverty for love and beauty.
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Spiegeltent is Dutch for Mirror Tent. The original spiegeltents were constructed in the Flemish Region of Belgium in the late 19th century as mobile dance halls. They were transported around the country and assembled for town fairs in areas that did not have a proper dance hall.
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Only 8 of these spiegeltents remain in existence today and this year Sheffield welcomes Idolize the most magical of all the tents.
Giacomo Puccini
1858-1924
Born into a long line of church musicians, Puccini was, as expected, at first a church organist. However, after gaining a place at the Milan Conservatory he soon turned his immense talent to opera. He wrote twelve operas in total including the much beloved La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Gianni Schicchi and Turandot which was completed posthumously first by Franco Alfano and then later again by Luciano Berio.
Location: Barker's Pool
Barker's Pool is situated in the city centre between the Devonshire Quarter and Fargate. The focal point of the square is a 27m Grade II listed First World War memorial which was unveiled in 1925. The square is also home to the Grade II listed City Hall and two glass-cased fountains.