Finale Ultimo

Spoiler alert - Mimi died. Again. I keep hoping it'll work out differently for her.

Watching Boheme I continue to marvel at Puccini's genius. His ability to capture the effervescence of youth, as well as its heartbreak - so masterful. It made me think about the interpretation of Father Own Lee, the opera expert often heard on the Metropolitan Opera Quiz. For Puccini chooses to end the opera with the melody from Colline's "coat aria," a seemingly odd choice given that he's a secondary character. But what Puccini seems to be saying is that the sacrifice Colline makes, the maturity that he exhibits, is the experience of all of the characters. That these young people are facing mortality for the first time, and they will never be the same again.

It's a quality I thought a lot about when I wrote Attack of the Theater People. Indeed, I often played my recording of Boheme when I was writing it. My work hasn't achieved anywhere near the depth, of course, but it's something to aspire to.

Addio, senza rancor.