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"I should like her to leave the world less for herself and a little more for the one who loved her."
Giacomo Puccini
This article explores the nature of Giacomo Puccini's verismo characters by shedding new light on his harmonic engagement of the feminine as represented in the female lead, Mimì, in La bohème (1896). As one of Puccini's premiere verismo characters, Mimì plays a role that is surprising in her realistic portrayal of poverty. Her opening aria, however, presents a brief and rather unusual autobiography in that she has really little to tell; she does not even know why she is called Mimì! Thus, she is only truly characterized through Puccini's idiomatic harmony and melody. This argument is supported by a thorough examination of the harmonic underpinnings of her aria, "Si, Mi chiamano Mimì." By combining a Schenkerian linear approach with a dualist understanding of harmony, this article examines the drama through the filter of gender. In doing so, it demonstrates how, despite a typically functional harmonic background, Puccini creates the verismic scenario for Mimi through the dualist juxtaposition of the dominant and the subdominant. Ultimately, a dualist harmonic organization suggests the contrasting realms of reality and dreams between which Mimì is caught in the inevitable trajectory of fate; her music has been harmonically manipulated such that she can only exist to love and to die.
La bohème - Musical and Dramatic Highlights
1. Overall Narrative
As Clément states, there is no evil in La bohème, as the characters seem to be the embodiment of youthful innocence.1 Their innocence, however, appears to be at the root of their tragedy. From the beginning, their relationship exhibits the characteristics of adolescent romance - jealousy, miscommunication and passion. Mimì is ultimately aware that she will die, while Rodolfo is aware that he can never keep her. Yet, neither is able to communicate with the other, and neither is able to find a way to protect their love. Both accept and follow the fate that leads them to a tragic end. Their obedience to fate is shown in the overall musical design of La bohème, wherein the music appears to flow narrativistically and teleologically toward an end point without any major climaxes...