Olesya Golovneva, Maria Fontosh (sopranos), Joachim Bäckstöm (tenor), Miklós Sebestyén (bass), Vladislav Sulimsky, Daniel Hellström (baritones)

Malmö Children’s Chorus & Malmö Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Christian Badea (conductor) & Orpha Phelan (stage director)

Based on stories by Henri Merger but also infused with the composer’s own experiences as a penniless graduate, Puccini’s powerful opera La Boheme portrays its youthful characters’ romantic outlook on life and the brutally tragic end to their innocence. The story is set around 1930 but director Orpha Phelan sees Puccini’s characters as equally at home in our times: “their story is universal, all that is needed is to understand what it is like to be young and in love!” This Malmo production was acclaimed in the Svenska Dagbladet as “one of the most moving renditions of Puccini’s opera I have ever seen.” In this production, we are in Paris. The wonderfully romantic city, made for falling in love. “Anyone who has been in Paris in a slushy winter knows there is nothing especially romantic about it!” Orpha Phelan states. She does not want to idealize bohemian life. “Nor is there anything particularly romantic about choking to death… in a poor, ugly, cold neighborhood… In the opera this misery is enacted against such oh-so-beautiful music. It’s that contrast that makes the opera great.”

Picture format: 1080i Full HD

Sound format: PCM Stereo, DTS 5.1

Subtitles: Italian, English, German, French

Region code: 0 (Worldwide)

No. of discs: 1