Organization

Admin

National Centre for the Performing Arts

Conductor

Myung-Whun Chung

Stage director

Marco Gandini

Set designer

Loïc Thiénot

Costume designer

Simona Morresi

Lighting designer

Marie Nicolas

Singer

Soprano

Mi-Young Kim

Mimi

Michelle Ju Young Hong

Tenor

Yosep Kang

Rodolfo

Eun-Joo Park

Musetta

Baritone

Ju Ho Woo

Marcello

Byung Woo Kong

Bass

Ham Seok-hun

Colline

Hyung-Wook Lee

Jin Choo Kim

Schaunard

Kim Joo Taek

Seung Jong Im

Alcindoro

Benoît

Kim Geon-woo

Parpignol

Orchestra

Korean National Symphony Orchestra

China National Opera House Symphony Orchestra

La Bohème

Beijing

China

NCPA

Opera House

La Bohème Puccini

Public

Approved

La Boheme is a classical opera of four acts created by Puccini, the master of Italian opera. The creation of the work lasts for nearly three years, during which Puccini and Giacosa revised some scenes even four or five times after reflections. On February 1, 1896, the debut at the Royal Opera House, in Turin, Italy was coldly received by audiences. However after the performance in Palermo on April 14, 1896, it has become a hit.  
The opera is an apple of opera fans around the world, not only because of the nice music but also the story of several young people's innocent life and immature love. Each audience can mirror their past or familiar experiences from characters. The master portrays characters vividly with distinct characteristics and ingenious scene setting. The charming melodies featured by the seamless integration of color orchestra is a skillful interpreter of heart feelings; the exciting stage effects contribute to more wonderful representation of opera contents full of poetries.  

The Korea National Opera La Boheme,starting the collaboration between Asian companies
In January 2011, the NCPA visited Seoul with its utmost production of Turandot to show the essence of Chinese opera to Korean opera lovers. In return, the KNO is visiting Beijing with its tremendous group of Korean artists from Korea and Europe to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between China and Korea.  

China, Korea, and Japan are the countries where operas are most frequently performed in Asia. Although the musicians from these countries are rapidly uprising in Western society and gaining reputation widely, the classical background is still weak in Asia. Combining the three markets and making it bigger through various collaborations is the way to strengthen the basis of the opera in Asia. To achieve this goal, Asian opera leaders should continue working together and this La Bohème along with Turandot will be the cornerstones.  

In 2012, the Korea National Opera will open its season with La Boheme, one of the most favored opera in Korea and in the world. The KNO will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its establishment in 1962. After the foundation, the KNO has been leading the development of Korean opera and as a result, more Korea singers are singing in many important European theaters and the numbers are growing. Also, it isn't hard to find Korean singers in the high ranks of international vocal competitions. This KNO has selected La Bohème to open its 2012 season. It is a strong will to make this opera better than the ones ever before, and this guarantees the quality of the production.  

There is no need to put any explanation to the name of Maestro Chung, one of the greatest Asian musicians in history. The maestro will lead the wonderful singers in Korea and Germany: two professors from the universities in Korea, two active ensemble singers from Deutsche Oper Berlin, many excellent singers who have won the major international vocal competitions. Thus, Korean artists will take the musical part while Italian and French artist is taking the spectacular parts such as directing, scenery design, costume design, and lighting design. Each designer is working actively in Europe and other countries. So basically, this production is a collaboration of Korean, Italian, French, and Chinese people. It will be so pitiful to lose the chance to see this beautiful opera.

English

La Bohème by Puccini, From (2012/2012), Directed by Marco Gandini,, Conductor Myung-Whun Chung, NCPA, Beijing, China

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues