As previously mentioned, La bohème is "an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini with a libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica based on Henry Murger's novel, Scenes from the bohemian life. (Julien Budden). Puccini wanted to begin composing this opera in the winter of 1892 but due to a dispute with another composer, Ruggero Leoncavallo over rights to the story, production of the libretto was slow (Budden). After almost two years of perfecting the libretto and some disagreements between Giacosa, Illica and Puccini, Giacomo began composing the opera in the summer of 1894 (Budden). On December 10, 1895, the score was completed and La bohème premiered on February 1, 1896 under the direction of Toscanini at the Teatro Regio in Turin – the same theater that Manon Lescaut had created three years previously (Budden). The original cast consisted of Cesira Ferrani as Mimì, Camilla Pasini as Musetta, Evan Gorga as Rodolfo, Michele Mazzini as Colline and Antonio Pini-Corsi as Schaunard (Budden) . The opera may not have been an immediate success with critics, but according to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "nothing could stop its rapid circulation" (Budden). La bohème tells the story of star-crossed lovers, Rodolfo and Mimì, who witness the triumphs and tribulations of true love. Set in the Latin Quartet of Paris in 1830, the story begins on Christmas Eve with Rodolfo, a poet, and Marcello, a painter, shivering from the cold and trying to find something to burn to keep warm (Julian Budden). Rodolfo decides to use his five-act play that he painstakingly wrote to keep the flames going instead of burning furniture or something that might be useful later (Budden). Colline enters a "vivid orchestral theme" and the fire is lit...... middle of paper ......Arizona Opera, 1999. Web. February 27, 2014. “Musical Features.” 20th century style. ClassicalScore.com, February 14, 2009. Web. March 01, 2014.Nasou, Peter J. "Translation of Che Gelida Manina." Aria.com database. Np, and Web. March 3, 2014. “Land rent summary. » IMDb. IMDb.com, 2005. Web. March 2, 2014.Puccini, Giacomo. “La Bohème Madrid 2006.” YouTube. YouTube, August 11, 2013. Web. February 27, 2014. “Rent – ​​Synopsis. » Musicals online. Np, and Web. March 2, 2014. “Rent. » IBDB. The Broadway League, 2001. web. March 2, 2014. “Synopsis of La Bohème.” The Metropolitan Opera. The Metropolitan Opera, nd Web. February 27, 2014. Tommasini, Anthony. “The Seven-Year Odyssey That Led to 'Renting'” The New York Times. The New York Times, March 16, 1996. Web. March 2, 2014. Wright, Craig M. and Bryan R. Simms. Music in Western Civilization. Boston: Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.