LA Opera’s 40th Anniversary Season continues with a revival of its beloved Herbert Ross production of La Bohème, conducted by Resident Conductor Lina González-Granados. Giacomo Puccini’s heartbreaking romance will have six performances from November 22 through December 14.
In the opera classic that inspired the smash hit musicals Rent and Moulin Rouge!, six lively bohemians experience exhilarating joy and irretrievable loss among the evocative rooftops, cafés and garrets of Paris.
From its 1896 premiere to the present day, Puccini’s blockbuster opera has captivated generations of music lovers, its transcendent score awash in lavish Romanticism and gorgeous melodies. Rodolfo is a struggling poet reduced to burning his manuscripts to keep out the winter chill. Mimì is a fellow tenant with big dreams and a deadly illness. A chance encounter has them falling in love, but when you’re at the bottom of Parisian society, every day could be your last.
“La Bohème has long been a touchstone for every opera company—and for me, personally,” said Christopher Koelsch, LA Opera’s President and CEO. “It remains unmatched in its ability to welcome new audiences into the art form while continuing to move those of us who’ve loved it for decades. Early in my time at LA Opera, a colleague—having caught me quietly weeping at the end of yet another performance—told me that if I ever stopped being moved by Bohème, it would be time to leave the business. Nearly 30 years later, I’m still here, and still undone by the same moment every time. Herbert Ross’s production, created for LA Opera more than three decades ago, has captivated tens of thousands not just here in Los Angeles, but around the world. Bringing it back to our stage this season feels both like a homecoming and a reaffirmation of everything that makes Puccini’s masterpiece endure.”
The brilliant cast features two sopranos enjoying major success after early training with LAO’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program. Janai Brugger will make her role debut as Mimì, after previous company appearances including Musetta in La Bohème (2012 and 2016), Pamina in The Magic Flute (2013), Servilia in The Clemency of Titus (2019) and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro (2023). Erica Petrocelli will reprise the role of Musetta, which she previously performed in LAO’s 2019 production of La Bohème. Her leading appearances with the company also include the title role in Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice (2020), Donna Clara in The Dwarf (2024) and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte (2025).
The four Bohemian roommates will all be performed by singers making their first LA Opera appearances. Italian tenor Oreste Cosimo will make his U.S. debut as Rodolfo. South Korean baritone Gihoon Kim will perform the role of Marcello, Chinese bass William Guanbo Su will portray Colline, and American baritone Emmett O’Hanlon will appear as Schaunard.
Baritone Rod Gilfry, who made his professional operatic debut in the company’s inaugural production of Otello in 1986, will appear as both Benoît and Alcindoro, his respective 38th and 39th roles at LA Opera.
Tickets begin at $37 and can be purchased online at LAOpera.org, by phone at (213) 972.8001, or in person at the LA Opera box office at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90012).
