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© BABELstudio . Pubblicata il 06 Febbraio 2012.

Principle intention of the design of the scenery of Giacomo Puccinis La Bohème is to conceive it in ‘architectional’ terms – in the sense of typology and architectional phenomenons as for instance form, space and interpretations regarding symbolic meaning.

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© BABELstudio . Pubblicata il 06 Febbraio 2012.

Fundamental to that approach is the discovery of metaphors or rather allegories incorporated into the Libretto, each refering to one of the scenes, revealing an underlying layer of meaning, a second legibility.

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© BABELstudio . Pubblicata il 06 Febbraio 2012.

Apparently passing designations, being Mar Rosso/first scene, Café Momus/second scene and Barrière d’Enfer/third scene contain central subjects or rather characterisic qualities of the Bohemia. Thus, the available interpretation of La Bohème is much more a portrayal of the Bohemia being a social phenomenon, a possibility of an artistic existence than a story about a certain clique of Bohemians.

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© BABELstudio . Pubblicata il 06 Febbraio 2012.

The prevailing interpretation of each scene and its metaphor is the basis to the design, being translated into volumes or rather receptacles and their changing disposition on stage. The scenery is undergoing three principle structural alterations. The volumes and their specific disposition allow – through their constant presence throughout the total lenght of the opera – links of thought between the sceneries.