Jan. 20, 2025

La bohème at HGO

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Luis Lima (Rodolfo) and Mirella Freni (Mimì) in HGO's 1981 production of La bohème

Since 1958, Houston Grand Opera has mounted Puccini’s perennial masterpiece in 13 seasons, staged by nine separate directors. Trace the work’s history at HGO with these standout performances from the past seven decades.

1958

Conductor: Walter Herbert

 

Director: Armando Agnini

 

Principals: Maria Di Gerlando, Ruth Carter, Louis Roney, William Shriner

 

Trivia: The company’s first Bohème—sung in English—featured the HGO mainstage debut of legendary bass-baritone Norman Treigle in the role of Colline.

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Norman Treigle (Colline) in HGO's 1958 production of La bohème
1968

Conductor: Walter Herbert

 

Director: James de Blasis

 

Principals: Teresa Stratas, Maralin Niska, Carlo Cossutta, Richard Fredricks

 

Trivia: Making her first and only HGO appearance, Stratas overcame a case of laryngitis to perform, in the words of the Houston Chronicle, the “most perfectly attuned and ringingly communicative Mimì this company has had.”

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Carlo Cossutta (Rodolfo) and Teresa Stratas (Mimì) in HGO's 1968 production of La bohème
1975

Conductor: Charles Rosekrans

 

Director: Patrick Bakman

 

Principals: Joanna Bruno, Barrie Smith, William Harness, Richard Stilwell

 

Trivia: The Houston Post praised bass-baritone James Morris’s “exquisitely restrained” rendition of Colline’s Coat Aria, “Vecchia zimarra.” The cast dedicated their performance to another great HGO Colline, Norman Treigle, who had passed away just before opening night.

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James Morris (Colline) in HGO's 1975 production of La bohème
1981

Conductor: Hal France

 

Director: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle

 

Principals: Mirella Freni, Julia Migenes-Johnson, Luis Lima, Brent Ellis

 

Trivia: Freni was, as the Houston Chronicle described her, “the superb Mimì of our time”—the soprano’s 1972 recording of Bohème with Pavarotti remains the gold standard to this day. She made her mainstage HGO debut in Ponnelle’s visionary production.

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Mirella Freni (Mimì) in HGO's 1981 production of La bohème
1996

Conductor: Vjekoslav Sutej

 

Director: Herbert Ross

 

Principals: Cecilia Gasdia, Stella Zambalis, Vincenzo La Scola, Frank Hernandez

 

Trivia: Ross, also a film director (Footloose, Steel Magnolias), updated the action to the 1890s. The set was dominated by a still-under-construction Eiffel Tower, and the bohemians made their Act II escape by automobile.

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HGO's 1996 production of La bohème
2008

Conductor: Patrick Summers

 

Director: James Robinson

 

Prinipals: Ana María Martínez, Albina Shagimuratova, Garrett Sorenson, Joshua Hopkins

 

Trivia: Robinson set his Bohème against the backdrop of World War I. A critic for ConcertoNet wrote that Martínez, who also starred in the 2002 HGO run of Robinson’s production, “etch[ed] herself into our hearts as one of the most memorable of Mimìs.” You can hear her sing “Somewhere” in this season’s West Side Story!

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Ana María Martínez (Mimì) in HGO's 2008 production of La bohème
2018

Conductor: Patrick Summers

 

Director: John Caird

 

Principals: Nicole Heaston, Pureum Jo, Ivan Magrì, Michael Sumuel

 

Trivia: HGO’s 2025 Bohème revives Caird’s beloved 2012 production, which features a set constructed from painted canvases. This second run in 2018 boasted a cast of young-artist alumni from the company’s Butler Studio.

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Ivan Magrì (Rodolfo), Nicole Heaston (Mimì), Federico De Michelis (Colline), Michael Sumuel (Marcello) and Pureum Jo (Musetta) in HGO's 2018 production of La bohème (photo credit: Lynn Lane)
about the author
Joe Cadagin
Joe Cadagin is the Audience Education and Communications Manager at Houston Grand Opera.