La Bohème NYC Reviews and Tickets

89%

(34 Reviews)

Positive

100%

Mixed

Negative

Members say

Great singing, Great staging, Absorbing, Entertaining, Enchanting

About the Show

The Met celebrates the 40th anniversary of Franco Zeffirelli’s beloved staging.

Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Puccini’s classic tragedy for the first time at the Met, with sopranos Federica Lombardi, Anita Hartig, and Elena Stikhina alternating as the heartbreaking seamstress Mimì, and tenors Matthew Polenzani, Stephen Costello, and Joseph Calleja sharing the role of the love-struck poet Rodolfo. Sopranos Olga Kulchynska, Heidi Stober, and Kristina Mkhitaryan and baritones Adam Plachetka and Alexey Markov are the tempestuous lovers Musetta and Marcello, and maestros Carlo Rizzi and Marco Armiliato take the podium to oversee Franco Zeffirelli’s magnificent production.

Puccini's beloved opera about young artists in Paris premiered at Teatro Regio in Turin, Italy in 1896.

The story takes place in Paris, around 1830, a time after revolution and war. The story centers of youth at odds with mainstream society is one that has stood the test of time, and was the inspiration for the musical 'Rent.'

Member Reviews (34)

Romantic, Great staging, Great singing, Enchanting

See it if You're a fan, or you've never seen an opera. This is a superlative production of an opera that is deservedly the world's most popular

Don't see it if You hate opera.

Better than rent, Great singing, of course., Epic, Exquisite, Ambitious

See it if You like spectacles. This opera is what the Met is all about--huge staging, amazing voices, a wonderful story. I go every year.

Don't see it if you hate opera (even if you never saw one)...Do not want two endless intermissions turning a 2 1/2 hour show into a 3 1/2 hour show.

Dramatic, Tattoos & rippedjeans, Update works, Lead singers outstanding, Must see

See it if you enjoy updated classics

Don't see it if You do not like opera

Intelligent, Great writing, Great staging, Great singing, Great acting

See it if you like an opera where the characters are real to life, the lyrics are intelligent and witty and the production and staging are magnificant

Don't see it if you don't like opera of any kind even if the music is beautiful and the story is wonderful. Read more

Must see, Masterful, Great staging, Great singing, Exquisite

See it if you want to experience opera at its best. I am not an opera fan and I loved every moment. Makes me want to see more opera. This was perfect

Don't see it if No reason not to see it. I am not an opera fan & I loved it. I deeply listed to the music as they sang & wow what a difference

Refreshing, Intelligent, Great staging, Great singing, Delightful

See it if A classic opera. Don’t miss the great chorus scene in Art 2

Don't see it if Not into opera or serious entertainment

Exquisite, Masterful, Great writing, Great singing, 2 equines, no waiting.

See it if The playbill says it's the world's most popular opera & it probably deserves to be; no part of this doesn't work. Great end to the season.

Don't see it if Look, if you like opera at all, this is a great one; by turns funny and tragic. And they have a horse AND a donkey onstage at the same time.

Delightful, Entertaining, Great acting, Great staging, Great singing

See it if you want to indulge in Puccini's excellent score with grand voices & costumes on Zeffirelli's superb staging-an experience from the 1st note

Don't see it if you do not like 3+ hour productions including two half hour intermissions.

Critic Reviews (3)

"All in all, it was clear who the central figure of this “Bohème” was: the man waving the baton."
Read more

"Critic's Pick!...Even in a good performance of this well-known staple, it’s hard for a conductor’s work to stand out against the singers’ voices, which usually claim our attention. But on Tuesday, when “Bohème” returned to the Metropolitan Opera — in Franco Zeffirelli’s enduringly popular production, and with an appealing cast in place — the star of the evening was the conductor, Eun Sun Kim, in her Met debut. Last month, Kim made history at the San Francisco Opera as the first woman music director of a major American opera company. And at the Met this week, she did the job with musicianly care, assured technical command, subtlety and imagination. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard Puccini’s score so freshly played."
Read more

"'La Bohéme' is for everyone. Its appeal is universal. Set in beautiful Paris, it is visceral, romantic, sad, lovestruck, fun, and more – all rolled into one."
Read more

Trailer

Creative team

The Metropolitan Opera House

Bookwriter / Lyricist

Giuseppe Giacosa

Bookwriter