Giacomo Puccini

La Boheme: Act I, Aria: Che gelida manina

LA BOHÈME (THE BOHEMIAN), one of the most beloved and commercially-successful operas, is based on the 1851 novel Scenes of Bohemian Life by Henri Murger. With a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) worked on it from 1893 to 1895. It first appeared at the Teatro Regio in Turin on February 1, 1896, conducted by 28-year-old Arturo Toscanini. Weighed negatively against Turin's recent Italian premiere of the Wagner opera GOTTERDAMMERUNG, it received a lukewarm response from audience and critics. A few months later, concertgoers filled opera houses on both sides of the Atlantic to hear it. In Act I, Rodolfo the painter has just met Mimi in the darkness of his garret while trying to look for a key she has lost. Their hands meet in the gloom; singing CHE GELIDA MANINA, he introduces himself as a poet, poor in circumstance, but whose dreams of love make him a millionaire at heart. Instrumentation: 2+Picc.2+EH.2+BCl.2: 4.0.3.0: Timp: Perc(1) Hp: Str (4.4.3.3.3 in set): Solo Tenor. Versions in both the original key of D-flat Major and transposed to C Major are available from the publisher.