La Bohème

The characters at the heart of the ever-popular La Bohème may merely be penniless bohemians, but in his masterful hands, Giacomo Puccini shows that their joys and sorrows are just as worthy of the operatic treatment as any god, king, or mythic hero. And for this reason, his heartbreaking love story remains the most performed work in Met history. In this radio broadcast from 2017, veteran maestro Carlo Rizzi conducts a dynamic young cast, headlined by soprano Ailyn Pérez as the fragile seamstress Mimì and tenor Michael Fabiano as her beloved, the poet Rodolfo. Soprano Susanna Phillips and baritone Alessio Arduini are the on-again-off-again pair Musetta and Marcello, with baritone Alexey Lavrov as Schaunard and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Colline rounding out the principal ensemble. Alongside them, bass Paul Plishka, whose impressive Met career spanned nearly 1,700 performances of 88 roles, does double duty as both Benoit and Alcindoro.