Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Relax, it'll all make sense

Why can Mimi and Rodolpho fall in love immediately?

Video:

La Boheme - Pavarotti- "Che gelida manina" Fiamma Izzo d' Amico "Si, mi chiamano Mimi"

Video:

"O soave fanciulla" La boheme Luciano Pavarotti & Fiamma Izzo d' Amico

La Boheme is the first opera of the still-in-existence San Diego Opera. Boheme is generally considered the world’s favorite opera and there is good reason for that. The story is moving and the music is ravishing, as only Puccini can be.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I want to talk about the first act and get into Puccini’s theatrical genius. I’m specifically considering Rodolpho’s aria, Mimi’s aria, and the duet that follows.

After the opening scene with his roommates, Rodolpho encounters Mimi, who loses her key. As they search for it, their hands meet and Rodolpho sings his famous aria Che gelida manina, “How cold your little hand is.”

In the aria, Rodolpho shares with Mimi, and the audience, who he is and what he does, and how her eyes have stolen his dreams. Only an Italian can say something such as that with a straight face.

Mimi then shares who she is and what she does and mentions that her real name is Lucia. In a splendid musical moment, she explains how much she enjoys the spring. We hear the music become warmer. It’s spectacular.

The roommates shout a few things from offstage and then Rodolpho and MImi sing a duet about how in love they are. Whoa, let’s pump the brakes here a little bit. Didn’t they just meet? How can they be in love?

I shall explain. If La Boheme were a movie, these two aria and the duet would be a montage of several dates. After the initial meeting we would see them at a sidewalk cafe followed by a date in the park. Then we would see her lean her head onto his shoulder at the movies. Ultimately they’d be walking down the beach at sunset, confirming that they were in love.

These two arias and the duet perform that same function. He tells her who his. She tells him who she is. This is called “getting to know each other.” After they get to know each other, they proclaim their love for each other, and then Mimi dies.

Well, she doesn't die right away, but this fantastic sequence of aria, aria, duet sets up our hearts to be broken at the conclusion of the opera.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

The shack is a landmark declaring, “The best break in the area is out there.”
Next Article

Live Five: Rebecca Jade, Stoney B. Blues, Manzanita Blues, Blame Betty, Marujah

Holiday music, blues, rockabilly, and record releases in Carlsbad, San Carlos, Little Italy, downtown
Video:

La Boheme - Pavarotti- "Che gelida manina" Fiamma Izzo d' Amico "Si, mi chiamano Mimi"

Video:

"O soave fanciulla" La boheme Luciano Pavarotti & Fiamma Izzo d' Amico

La Boheme is the first opera of the still-in-existence San Diego Opera. Boheme is generally considered the world’s favorite opera and there is good reason for that. The story is moving and the music is ravishing, as only Puccini can be.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I want to talk about the first act and get into Puccini’s theatrical genius. I’m specifically considering Rodolpho’s aria, Mimi’s aria, and the duet that follows.

After the opening scene with his roommates, Rodolpho encounters Mimi, who loses her key. As they search for it, their hands meet and Rodolpho sings his famous aria Che gelida manina, “How cold your little hand is.”

In the aria, Rodolpho shares with Mimi, and the audience, who he is and what he does, and how her eyes have stolen his dreams. Only an Italian can say something such as that with a straight face.

Mimi then shares who she is and what she does and mentions that her real name is Lucia. In a splendid musical moment, she explains how much she enjoys the spring. We hear the music become warmer. It’s spectacular.

The roommates shout a few things from offstage and then Rodolpho and MImi sing a duet about how in love they are. Whoa, let’s pump the brakes here a little bit. Didn’t they just meet? How can they be in love?

I shall explain. If La Boheme were a movie, these two aria and the duet would be a montage of several dates. After the initial meeting we would see them at a sidewalk cafe followed by a date in the park. Then we would see her lean her head onto his shoulder at the movies. Ultimately they’d be walking down the beach at sunset, confirming that they were in love.

These two arias and the duet perform that same function. He tells her who his. She tells him who she is. This is called “getting to know each other.” After they get to know each other, they proclaim their love for each other, and then Mimi dies.

Well, she doesn't die right away, but this fantastic sequence of aria, aria, duet sets up our hearts to be broken at the conclusion of the opera.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

East San Diego County has only one bike lane

So you can get out of town – from Santee to Tierrasanta
Next Article

Houston ex-mayor donates to Toni Atkins governor fund

LGBT fights in common
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader