Metamorphoses of Puccini’s “La bohème” in Jonathan Larson’s musical “Rent”
Authors: Liu Jian 
Published: March 2021

Theoretical background. Depending on the choice of the original source underlying the work, all Broadway musicals can be divided into three main types – with the original libretto and plot (“Next to normal” by T. Kitt), based on (or even on the material) of the same name cartoons (E. John’s “The Lion King”, D. Stewart’s and G. Ballard’s “Ghost”) and operas (E. John’s “Aida” after G. Verdi’s opera of the same name, J. Larson’s “Rent” written after “La boh&#232;me” by G. Puccini). In the latter group there is a contrasting branching, which can be observed even on the example of the two named musicals. If E. John seeks to preserve the historical correspondence to the epoch depicted in the opera, as well as to embody the conditionally Egyptian oriental color with the help of exotic orchestration, then J. Larson makes a radical modernization of the plot. His radicalism lies not so much in the time distance over which he “transposes” events, as in the “reduction” to naturalistic brutality and nudity of forbidden, but very “painful” in the 90s of the twentieth century topics – drugs, AIDS, same-sex relationships. In comparison with the problems of the musical, G. Puccini’s opera is perceived as a romanticized fairy tale. The social acuity of the musical is closer to the verismo aesthetics than the opera by G. Puccini, and encourages a more thorough analysis of its relationship with the opera prototype. The objective of the article is to reveal the specifics of the metamorphosis of the plot and musical drama of Puccini’s “La boh&#232;me” in the musical “Rent” by J. Larson. In accordance with the goal, research methods such as structural and functional are used to identify the components of the composer’s text and their role in the drama of the whole, comparative method to consider selected works in terms of plot interpretation, libretto features, general developing of the drama and musical text. Results of the study. J. Larson’s musical “Rent” demonstrate a free interpretation of G. Puccini’s opera original, with which a number of metamorphoses take place. The first is related to the modernization of the plot, which is transposed from Paris in the mid-nineteenth century to the 90s of the twentieth century and the “lower classes” of New York. The plot is reduced due to the saturation of its topical issues, which reflected the American spirit of the 90’s – AIDS, drug addiction, same-sex relationships. At the same time, the lyricization of drama is carried out, because in the musical J. Larson shows the development of the love affair of three couples. Almost all of them end tragically: Angel dies, Mimi is also on the verge of death. In turn, Joan and Maureen constantly quarrel and reconcile only at the end of the musical. At the same time, the plot outline of the development of Roger and Mimi’s relationship duplicates a similar line of the opera, starting from the scene of their acquaintance and ending with a duet in the finale, where the characters once again confess their love for each other. The key scene is the manifesto of bohemian life, as in the opera, is the scene in a cafe (“La Vie Boheme”, № 23). Musical dramaturgy of “Rent”, in contrast to the plot, is far removed from the operatic original, due to the genre tradition of the musical, which is reflected in the two-act structure, the principle of dramatic “relaxation” in the second act, where the denouement of all plot lines comes, number structure, where musical numbers alternate with conversational dialogues. At the same time, J. Larson strives for the integrity of the musical’s dramaturgy, which is reflected in the “musicalization” of dialogues, which mostly sound with musical accompaniment and flexibly flow into duet-ensemble scenes. The solo numbers, which brings a stop to the action, is mostly replaced by duets that “promote” the action and reveal the development of the characters’ relationships (the key pair has four such duets). Conclusions. All mentioned qualities of the musical “Rent” significantly distinguish the composition of J. Larson from another example of the musical based after the opera – “Aida” by E. John, which allows us to talk about the presence of individual compositional and dramatic solutions, even when working with a similar source. This shows the significant potential of the Broadway musical as a musical-theatrical genre, as opposed to its accusations of commercialism and the assertion of the priority of entertainment, which makes it an interesting and perspective material for research.