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Persuasive Writing:Write a “me” poem for each of the characters: begin the poem with “I am” and list the characteristics of eachperson in separate phrases.Write parrot poems from the point of view of the characters. Parrot poems are conversational poems in whichpartners write each line in turn.Writing exercise in which feelings are expressed like those in La Bohème arias.Write a passage expressing several charactersʼ inner thoughts at the same time. Use stream of consciousnesswriting.Write dialogue for two of the characters in the opera. Each character only says one line, but uses differentinflections each time he/she says it.Write stage directions for the scene when Mimi tells Rodolfo that they must part, or another scene of your choice.Rewrite a scene from the opera, switching the genders of the characters. How does the scene change? Rewritea scene, changing the ethnicities. How does it change?Rewrite libretto using today as a setting. Use contemporary characters: Who would be Mimi today? Musetta?Divide into small groups. Each group writes the story from the point of view of a different character.There are many rhymes in Italian in the opera; write a rhyming couplet in another language.Write passages describing how different characters in the opera move.Write a “serenade by proxy” when one person pretends to be another.Write a different ending for the opera.Write or draw a deleted scene for the opera; a scene we hear about, but donʼt see.Keep journals from the point of view of the characters during the events of the opera.Write a letter from one character to another.Create a storyboard of La Bohème produced in the style of a sitcom episode (Friends) or comic soap opera.Scenes, letters, diary or blog pages can be written from a particular characterʼs point of view; make sure to takerelationships between characters into account. Diary pages could focus on how characters convince themselvesto do something — internal debate.WRITTEN AND ORAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE CONVENTIONSDebates between characters. Deliver persuasive speeches, identify tactics used.Write a monologue with two scenes based on the alternate points of view held by a single character.Spelling: Spell the names of the characters in La Bohème.Facial cues, expressions, gestures can sometimes amplify message being delivered, or can sometimes runcontrary to meaning of words (subtext).Watch different versions of the opera on DVD and write reviews. Read example reviews first.Examine the structure of La Bohème; can you relate it to other stories youʼve read or seen that have the samecharacter(s) in different stories?La Bohème comes from a trilogy of plays; what are the other ones? Have any of those been made into operas?Define climax. Define denouement. How are they used in La Bohème?SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections

LISTENING AND SPEAKINGOral Speaking: Connection between the written words and oral interpretation (recitative and sung), the phrasingand musicality of speech.Reflection: What did you see, think, hear and feel? Ex. Verbal & written responses to La Bohème.Why do the characters talk to the audience?Why do the characters reveal their thoughts to the audience throughout the opera?The opera is filled with moments where the characters reflect and think – how does Rossini pair music and timewith talking and silence.Persuasive language: How do the men get away without paying rent?How does Musetta convince Alcindoro to buy her new shoes? Is it persuasive language or action?How does Rodolfo convince Mimi to stay with him?Act out main events of the story, in tableaux or longer scenes. Improvise. Give small groups different scenes,and then act out in succession.Write dialogue for two of the characters in the opera. Each character only says one line, but uses differentinflections each time he/she says it.Separate into small groups; each group researches and comes up with evidence for certain charactersʼmotivations, then defends them in a classroom debate.Tell the story of La Bohème in your own words to other members of your class.There is a lot of repetition in La Bohème; act out a scene with repetitive scenes, in which each character adds anew word to the phrase.With their voices, the singers express the charactersʼ emotions. How would you express love, happiness,exasperation with your speaking voice?Try reading some lines of recitative; how does it sound without the music? How does the music change it?Conduct a debate between two characters in the opera.BACKGROUND INFORMATIONGiacomo Puccini (composer): biographies, timelines of work.Who wrote the libretto for Pucciniʼs La Bohème? (Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa) What is the story of LaBohèmeʼs composition? What other librettos did Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa write for Puccini? With othercomposers?What was the initial reception of the opera?La Bohème was based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger, a collection of stories about life in theLatin Quarter in Paris, published in 1851.SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections

ACTIVITIESCreate a character sketch.Create Readerʼs Theater of La Bohème.Write your own collection of stories inspired by the “Bohemian” life in your school, neighborhood or city.Interview characters in La Bohème; write a news story based on the interviews.Create a news report about La Bohème using HyperStudio.Write a Dear Abby letter from one of the characters in the opera, and Abbyʼs response.Write a letter from one character to another, choosing a moment in the story to write about. Use the “FriendlyLetter” format.Using a letter from one character to another in the opera; edit the letter down to a tweet or Facebook post.Write a fake twitter feed for Mimi or Rodolfo.Play “Hot Seat”: one student acts as one of the characters from the story, and the other students ask him or herquestions based on that character.Write a prequel for the opera about one of the charactersʼ life.Write a blog post from the point of view of one character.Story writing: Adapt existing source material; create story/characters.Libretto writing: Adapt La Bohème (existing source material) or create a new story/characters.Create written copy: program, poster design, advertising, biography, etc.Read and report on feature articles from the opera program about La Bohème.SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections

San Francisco OperaʼsPucciniʼs LA BOHÈMECurriculum ConnectionsCalifornia Content StandardsKindergarten through Grade 12MATHEMATICSATTRIBUTESComparisons in La BohèmeSorting and Classifying: What characters belong together, which donʼt, and why? Ex: Mimi and Musetta arewomen, Rodolfo and Colline are men. Rodolfo, Marcello, Colline and Schaunard are artists.MEASUREMENTUse of Standard Units of Measurement in Story & Set Design.2D & 3D Dimensions: Area, Perimeter, Volume, Scale, Proportion, Ratio. Create a set for La Bohème to scale.Prepare a canvas (with measurements for the stretcher bars and canvas) for painting.Weight: Physical, Metaphorical, Balance.Time: Passage of time (real & theatrical time), times of day (morning, afternoon and night; yesterday, today,tomorrow; time of everyday events such as dinner & bed time), estimation, reading time, age of characters.Research Pucciniʼs and the librettistʼs salaries for La Bohème. What is the proportion of one to another?What currency was used during Pucciniʼs day? How much was it worth compared to todayʼs money?How much would Rodolfo have made as a poet?How much did the average artist make in Paris during this time? The average worker?How much would the Bohemians have had to pay Benoit, their landlord, for their apartment?If you were the Bohemians, how much would it have cost to stay in your apartment? Create a budget for thehousehold, taking into account all expenses.How much does it rent for an apartment in your neighborhood today? Create a monthly budget for yourhousehold, taking into account all expenses.Estimate how many people are in large ensemble scenes. Taking into account all the people on stage, how muchwould such a scene cost, in Pucciniʼs time and now?Count the number of people who need to be paid when putting on an opera; use cast and company listings in theprogram to calculate.Compute the distance between Turin and Paris in kilometers and miles.SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections

GEOMETRYAs found La Bohèmeʼs character, costume & set design.Identification of Shapes, Repetition & Pattern, Rhythm & Symmetry.Planes (Square, Rectangle, Triangle, Circle) & 3D (Cube, Pyramid, Sphere).Positive & Negative Space, Interior & Exterior Space.Calculate area of opera stages today vs. opera stages during Pucciniʼs time.Calculate area of the Bohemianʼs apartment. What was the size of a typical apartment in Paris? What wouldhave been the proportions of a room?Create a scale model of The Bohemianʼs apartment; calculate the area of each square and the area of each roomin the apartments building.Build a scale model of the small square where Café Momus in the Latin Quarter. Take proportions into account.NUMBER SENSECounting using the production elements and music of La Bohème.Formulas & calculations: Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division.More, less, or same as.Concept of zero (absences, disappearances. Ex. rests/silence in music.Ordering & sequencing.Recognizing and creating numerical patterns. Ex. beats, ABA pattern in music.Survey taking: tallying and graphing.Predictions.ACTIVITIESThe four main characters sing in a quartet at end of Act III. Detail the number of times characters sing in duets,trios and quartets in the opera.Create a timeline of events in Paris, beginning with the arrival of The Bohemians, up to present day Paris.Research remonetizing formula; how do economists determine how much money was worth then vs. now?Calculate how many yards of canvas are used for a painting. How many pages are used in a poetry book?Mimi is a seamstress. Design a dress or a cape for Mimi to sew. Create the pattern that Mimi would use to makethe dress. How much fabric do you need?Design the patterns for a bolt of fabric that would be used by Mimi to make a dress.In order to put on La Bohème in the first season at SF Opera (premiered in San Francisco on September 26,1923), how much did the company have to raise?SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections

San Francisco OperaʼsPucciniʼs LA BOHÈMECurriculum ConnectionsCalifornia Content StandardsKindergarten through Grade 12SCIENCEThe principals of science used in La Bohème.THE FIVE SENSES:Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.In the final scene, Butterfly blindfolds Trouble. Try covering your eyes and listening to other students speak orsing. Is the experience different from when you listen, without being able to see?What are senses involved in experiencing opera?How do senses develop and decline as you get older?The loss of what sense would most diminish experience of opera.PARTS OF THE BODY:Identification of body parts important to performing. Ex. Diaphragm, larynx, throat, mouth, etc.Identification of body parts associated with hearing music, how ears work.Identification of body parts associated with viewing opera, how eyes work.Examine the science of men and women and psychological and physical differences.How do you contract tuberculosis?What part of the body is affected by tuberculosis?How is tuberculosis treated?What immunizations do we have now that did not exist back in the 1800s?What materials keep you warmer than others? How much heat is preserved or do you lose when comparing yourhead, hand and other part of the body?What is thermo regulation?THE ELEMENTSFire, Water, Earth, Metal, Air, Wood.Find references to the nature in the opera.Study the four seasons. Weather elements – cold / snowSAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections

LIFE SCIENCEThey eat venison when they are out on Christmas Eve. What is venison?Research the effects of poverty on health and well-being.PHYSICSSound: Voice, Instruments, Acoustics, Amplification, Recording.What is fire? What happens when a match is lit?Learn about the properties of light, from candlelight and advent of electric lightsACTIVITIESResearch the materials used in painting, historically and now.Research the relationship between nature and artists.List references to nature in La Bohème.How are natural materials used in creating a painting or a book? How is paper made?Examine pigments used in paint.Make a useable bed from a stack of books.Learn more about food science and how to determine the nutritional content of a meal.Create a healthy meal on a budget.SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections

San Francisco OperaʼsPucciniʼs LA BOHÈMECurriculum ConnectionsCalifornia Content StandardsKindergarten through Grade 12SOCIAL STUDIESPERSONAL CONNECTIONSSelf-Identity.Family: Immediate & Extended. Caring relationship between friends.Roles of family members in your life and the choices you make.What are the differences in family life in France and America?Time: Past, Present, Future.Place: Neighborhood, City, State, Continent, World, Universe.CIVICSSocial Hierarchy: Class, Status. Ex. The weathy and The Bohemians. How is class indicated by the music, thecostumes and other elements in La Bohème?Types of Government: Republic (France) and Democracy (United States).Religion: Ritual and symbols.Political events during Pucciniʼs time.Study the role of artists in society. The artist create change and set trends. How do artists influence how we seethe world?GEOGRAPHYThe Operaʼs setting: Where is this place? What is this culture?Research Paris as a center of cultureWhich neighborhoods are renowned as being areas of creativity in Paris?Map the locations mentioned in the opera.Examine where you live; how does your environment represent your lifestyle or personality?Location of Pucciniʼs birth. Where else did he live?Trace Pucciniʼs travels and draw a map of the different places where he lived.Where is Turin, Italy and where is Paris, France? Map the route.SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections

The characters in Bohème live in the Latin Quarter in Paris. Draw a map of Paris showing where the Latin Quarteris. Detail the twenty arrondissements (districts) on your map.thWhy is the 5 arrondissement called the Latin Quarter? (only common language spoken in medieval time)In the beginning of Act II, they sing that the street sweepers are from the Gentilly. Where is Gentilly? Map it. Whatis it distance from Paris? What was happening in Gentilly in the 1840ʼs What is happening there today?HISTORYResearch when Puccini was born and the time period when Puccini lived. What are the differences andsimilarities between Pucciniʼs Europe and Europe today?What is a libretto? Who wrote the libretto to Bohème? What were their life stories?The libretto was based on a popular novel Scènes de la Vie de Bohème (Scenes of Bohemian Life), by HenriMurger. What was the origin of the stores in this novel? Was it a realistic portrayal of what was happening in Parisin the 1840ʼs?Explore the life of Henri Murger and his life as a bohemian. Why is he considered a bohemian?What other composer used the novelʼs story as the basis for his opera? What happened when Puccini and thiscomposer became aware that the other was writing an opera on the same story at the same time? Which versionis more popular today and why?How was Pucciniʼs Bohème initially received? Is it popular today?What does it mean to live a bohemian life? What was the origin of the use of the term and how has its useevolved?Examine class system during Pucciniʼs time.Research the development of La Bohème. Why would an artist be commissioned to write an opera? How do newoperas get made today?Research the initial reception of La Bohème, the play and the opera. Why did the opera initially fail and how wasit revised?Social structures and class relations Examine healthcare system of Paris during Mimiʼs time.Learn about the currency used in the time of La Bohème. How did artists make enough money to paytheir rent? What is a patron?Consider how poverty impacts the main characters? (No health care, no heat, inadequate food)Who is the King whose face is on their coins that they throw down in Act I? (remember that the story is setin Paris in the 1840ʼs)In Act IV, Colline jokes that the King asked him to join his cabinet. What is the Kingʼs cabinet? Who wouldhave been in his cabinet at the time? What is the likelihood that Colline would actually get asked to jointhe Kingʼs cabinet?The System and Laws Research owner / tenant relations. How would a rental agreement with The Bohèmians be binding?Research artist culture. What is intellectual property? Learn more about the advent of copyright laws.Women in La Bohème Research the roles for women in France.What were ideals of beauty in France during the time of La Bohème, for both men and women? Whatwould have clothes looked like for upper and lower classes?Compare and contrast artistic traditions in the United States and France.SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections

History of Opera How Opera began, history of San Francisco Opera, history of the Adler Fellow Program.Where was the first SF Opera production of La Bohème produced?ACTIVITIESMap settings in which play and opera take place.Create timelines of events in opera; Pucciniʼs operas. What is the story of Pucciniʼs life? How many operas did hewrite? Which ones became famous?Research the story of La Bohème. Was the story based on a real character?What was happening in the world when the opera premiered in Turin, Italy 1896?Create an organizational chart of the character relationships in La Bohème.Research French fashion during the period of the opera. How does clothing indicate culture and status?Pick another time period in which to set La Bohème. Research and design costumes and sets to reflect trends,society at that time.Research the culture of the artists in Paris. What was their role in society? Who would be The Bohèmians oftoday? What kind of social background or class did The Bohèmians come from? What would have been Mimiʼsclass, social status as a seamstress?What were ideals of beauty France and America, for both men and women at the time of the opera? What wouldhave clothes looked like for upper and lower classes, in France and America?How might an artist like Rodolfo or a seamstress like Mimi received their education during that time?What are the jobs of the characters in the opera? Examine jobs in Paris during the time of the opera.Write a letter from one character to another using the writing materials used at the time of La Bohème (quill pens,wax seals, parchment).SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections

San Francisco OperaʼsPucciniʼs LA BOHÈMECurriculum ConnectionsCalifornia Content StandardsKindergarten through Grade 12PHYSICAL EDUCATIONWhat dances coul

Visit the website flocabulary.com; create a similar rap for opera vocabulary. SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials LA BOHÈME Curriculum Connections Symbolism/Metaphors: Candle, Flame (burning bright, f