Giacomo Puccini's

"LA BOHEME"

On Saturday, July 31, 2004, OPERA OF THE HAMPTONS presents Giacomo Puccini�s LA BOHEME at the landmark VAIL LEAVITT MUSIC HALL, Riverhead, New York at 7:30 P.M.  The Vail Leavitt Music Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in September 1985.   It has been called a jewel box and this special occasion marks the first time that an opera will be heard at the Vail Leavitt Music Hall in over one hundred years  

The opera is based on the Scenes de La Vie de Boheme by Henri Murger, a true picture in the eighteen-forties, of the amusing, poetic and difficult life of poor artists� in the students� quarter of Paris.  These young romantics, Rodolfo the poet, Marcello the painter, Schaunard the musician, and the philosopher Colline are portraits of the author and the friends of his youth.  Rodolfo is, in fact, Murger himself.   In composing La Boheme, Puccini weaves his web, bestowing on these Bohemians a life in the most beloved opera of all time.   

Arturo Toscanini, then only twenty-eight years old, conducted the premiere at Turin on February 1, 1896.  In spite of all the excitement and anticipation of Puccini�s new opera, it was not a great success. Puccini�s publisher, Giulio Ricordi, believed in La Boheme  and the critics were proven wrong.   It is the most performed opera in the world. 

Opera of the Hamptons will present the sensational international cast that performed La Boheme two years ago.  Rodolfo�s piercing cry for Mimi brought the audience into a deep quiet, which permeated the theatre, and then, this extraordinary ensemble received a standing ovation, amidst tears and bravos echoing everywhere.   The artists are: Maria Ciccaglione, Rosa D�Imperio, David Katz, Peter Clark, William Berges, Stephan Kirchgraber, Charles Bosselman, Martin Young, with Music Director Atarah Hazzan, Stage Director Hayden DeWitt, Charles Bosselman, Stage Manager, and Artistic Director Barbara Giancola. 

Opera of the Hamptons is honored to perform at the Vail Leavitt Music Hall.  As the glorious music of La Boheme is played in the theatre, Giacomo Puccini�s spirit will mingle with that of Thomas Edison, Will Rogers and William Shakespeare�..a momentous occasion indeed.