Filmed live at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KHiO) on Monday, 19 February 2025, Opera Out of Opera 2(OOO2) introduced a daring reinterpretation of the first act of La bohème, signaling a bold new phase in the project following its trilogy of Mozart productions. With this shift from classical elegance to Puccini’s raw romanticism, the production opened up fresh expressive space for young performers and creative collaborators to reimagine opera in the context of 21st-century life.
Bringing together an international ensemble of emerging opera artists, the performance recast the emotional landscape of La bohème through the digital prism of today’s social media culture—where connection is immediate, but intimacy is fleeting. Love, illness, loneliness, and artistic passion were portrayed not only as timeless human experiences, but also as realities shaped by filtered screens and performative identities. The result was a visually rich and emotionally resonant performance that honored Puccini’s original while speaking powerfully to a new generation.
The production also featured deeply symbolic visual storytelling, with dancers portraying Mimì’s illness as a haunting physical presence that shadowed her movements, emphasizing the silent, isolating nature of her struggle. Design students from KHiO transformed the performance environment into a fragmented, modernized Parisian world—blending industrial textures, soft light, and digital projections that amplified the opera’s themes of fragility, longing, and disconnection.
This staging of La bohème not only showcased young vocal talent but also embodied the spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration at the heart of OOO2. By weaving together opera, theatre, dance, and visual art, the Oslo production offered a compelling vision of how opera can evolve without losing its soul—bridging tradition and innovation, and drawing in new audiences through storytelling that feels immediate, relevant, and deeply human.
Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Libretto: Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
Stage Directors: Till Ernecke and Rahel Hofbauer
Image Director: Manuela Schuster
Costumes and Stage Design: Silje Sivertsen, Sophia Esterer, Tizian Fürst
Orchestra: Oslo Symfoniorkester
Conductor: Michelangelo Galeati
Cast:
Mimì – Beatriz Patrocínio
Rodolfo – Nattha Thammathi
Marcello – Xiaofei Liu
Schaunard – Marcus Bartoletti
Colline – Ulrik Stensrød
Benoît – Aksel Frisnes
