Captured live at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg on Saturday, 8 March 2025, Opera Out of Opera 2 (OOO2) brought its European tour to a powerful close with a moving performance of the final act of La bohème. This concluding production united young opera talents from across Europe, showcasing the culmination of months of artistic exchange, collaboration, and experimentation within the framework of the Creative Europe initiative.
The Salzburg staging offered a poignant farewell to the project’s journey, delivering a contemporary, emotionally raw interpretation of Puccini’s timeless work. The fourth act—marked by fragility, fading hope, and love in its final moments—was presented with unflinching intimacy. Through stripped-back staging and bold visual metaphors, the production invited audiences into the world of the bohemian artists facing loss and heartbreak, resonating deeply with the themes of impermanence and human connection.
Additional layers of meaning were woven into the performance through interdisciplinary contributions from students of the Mozarteum and KHiO. The visual language of the production, guided by image director Manuela Schuster and a collaborative design team, featured cold lighting, minimalist urban textures, and symbolic costuming that underscored the tension between youth and mortality. These choices amplified the opera’s emotional weight while making the narrative more accessible to younger, contemporary viewers.
This final OOO2 event was more than a performance—it was a celebration of opera’s evolving future. With voices from many nations, the Mozarteum production embodied a spirit of creative unity, proving that opera, when reimagined through the lens of today’s artists, can transcend tradition and speak directly to modern hearts.
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, Lena Matterne, Carolin Ulmar
Orchestra: Mozarteum University Students
Conductor: Michelangelo Galeati
