La bohème” by Giacomo Puccini libretto (English)

Roles

Rodolfo, a poet - tenor
Mimì, a seamstress - soprano
Marcello, a painter - baritone
Musetta, a singer - soprano
Schaunard, a musician - baritone
Colline, a philosopher - bass
Benoît, their landlord - bass
Alcindoro, a state councillor - bass
Parpignol, a toy vendor - tenor
A customs Sergeant - bass
Students, working girls, townsfolk, shopkeepers, street-vendors, soldiers, waiters, children

The story is set in Paris in the period around 1830

ACT ONE

A garret

(A large window through which an expanse of snow-
covered roofs is seen. At right, a stove. A table, a bed,
four chairs, a painter's easel with a half-finished
canvas: books everywhere, manuscripts. Rodolfo is
thoughtful, looking out the window. Marcello works at
his painting "The Crossing of the Red Sea", his hands
stiff with cold; he tries to warm them by blowing on
them now and again.)


MARCELLO
This Red Sea of mine
makes me feel cold and numb
as if it were pouring over me.
I'll drown a Pharaoh in revenge.
(to Rodolfo)
What are you doing?

RODOLFO
I'm looking at Paris,
seeing the skies grey with smoke
from a thousand chimneys,
and I think of that no-good,
hateful stove of ours that lives
a gentleman's life of idleness.

MARCELLO
It's been a long time
since he received his just income.

RODOLFO
What are those stupid forests
doing, all covered with snow?

MARCELLO
Rodolfo, I want to tell you
a profound thought I've had:
I'm cold as hell.

RODOLFO
As for me, Marcello, I'll be frank:
I'm not exactly sweating.

MARCELLO
And my fingers are frozen -
as if I still were holding them
in that enormous glacier,
Musetta's heart.
(A sigh escapes him, and he leaves off painting.)

RODOLFO
Love is a stove that burns too much...

MARCELLO
Too fast.

RODOLFO
Where the man is the fuel...

MARCELLO
And woman the spark...

RODOLFO
He burns in a moment...

MARCELLO
And she stands by, watching!

RODOLFO
Meanwhile, we're freezing in here!

MARCELLO
And dying from lack of food!

RODOLFO
We must have a fire...

MARCELLO
(seizing a chair)
Wait...we'll sacrifice the chair!
(Rodolfo keeps Marcello from breaking the chair.
Suddenly he shouts with joy.)

RODOLFO
Eureka!

MARCELLO
You've found it?

RODOLFO
Yes. Sharpen your wits.
Let Thought burst into flame.

MARCELLO
(pointing to his picture)
Shall we burn the Red Sea?

RODOLFO
No. Painted canvas smells.
My play...
My burning drama will warm us.

MARCELLO
You mean to read it? I'll freeze.

RODOLFO
No, the paper will unfold in ash
and genius soar back to its heaven.
A serious loss to the age...
Rome is in danger...

MARCELLO
What a noble heart!

RODOLFO
Here, take the first act!

MARCELLO
Here.

RODOLFO
Tear it up.

MARCELLO
Light it.
(Rodolfo lights the part of the manuscript thrown in
the fire. Then the two friends draw up chairs and sit
down, voluptuously warming themselves.)


RODOLFO and MARCELLO
What blissful heat!
(The door opens and Colline enters, frozen, stamping
his feet. He throws some books on the table.)


COLLINE
Signs of the Apocalypse begin to appear.
No pawning allowed on Christmas Eve.
(surprised)
A fire!

RODOLFO
Quiet, my play's being given...

MARCELLO
...to the stove.

COLLINE
I find it sparkling.

RODOLFO
Brilliant.

MARCELLO
But brief.

RODOLFO
Brevity, its great merit.

COLLINE
Your chair, please, Mr Author.

MARCELLO
These intermissions
bore you to death.
Get on with it!

RODOLFO
Act Two.

MARCELLO
No whispering.

COLLINE
What profundity!

MARCELLO
How colourful!

RODOLFO
In that dying blue flame
an ardent love-scene dies.

COLLINE
See that page crackle.

MARCELLO
There were the kisses!

RODOLFO
I want to hear three acts at once.
(He throws the rest of the manuscript on the fire.)

COLLINE
And so unified is your bold conception.

ALL
Beautiful death in the joyful flame.
(The flame dies.)

MARCELLO
Oh Lord! The flame is dying.

COLLINE
So useless, so fragile a drama!

MARCELLO
Already curling up to die.

COLLINE and MARCELLO
Down with the author!
(Two porters come in, one carrying food, bottles of wine
and cigars; the other has a bundle of wood. At the
sound, the three men in front of the fire turn around
and with shouts of amazement fall upon the
provisions.)


RODOLFO
Wood!

MARCELLO
Cigars!

COLLINE
Bordeaux!

RODOLFO
Firewood!

MARCELLO
Bordeaux!

ALL THREE
Destiny provides us
with a feast of plenty!
(The porters leave. Schaunard enters triumphantly,
throwing some coins on the floor.)


SCHAUNARD
The Bank of France
has gone broke just for you.

COLLINE
(gathering up coins, with the others)
Pick them up!

MARCELLO
They must be made of tin!...

SCHAUNARD
Are you deaf? or blind?
(showing a crown)
Who is this man?

RODOLFO
Louis Philippe!
I bow to my King!

ALL
Louis Philippe is at our feet!
(Schaunard wants to tell his adventure, but the others
won't listen to him. They set the provisions on the table
and put wood in the stove.)


SCHAUNARD
Now I'll tell you: this gold,
this silver, rather,
has a noble history...

RODOLFO
Let's fire the stove!

COLLINE
It's hard to endure so much cold!

SCHAUNARD
An Englishman... a gentleman...
A lord...was looking for
a musician...

MARCELLO
Come! Let's set the table!

SCHAUNARD
And I? I flew to him...

RODOLFO
Where are the matches?

COLLINE
There.

MARCELLO
Here.

SCHAUNARD
... I introduce myself.
He hires me. I ask him...

COLLINE
Cold roast beef.

MARCELLO
Sweet pastry.

SCHAUNARD
When do the lessons begin?...
I introduce myself, he hires me,
I ask: When do the lessons begin?
He replies: "Let's start...
look!" and points to a parrot
on the first floor.
Then adds: "You play
until that bird dies!"

RODOLFO
The dining room's brilliant!

MARCELLO
Now the candles.

SCHAUNARD
And so it went:
I played for three long days...
Then I used my charm,
my handsome figure...
I won the serving-girl over...
We poisoned a little parsley...

MARCELLO
Eat without a tablecloth?

RODOLFO
No! I've an idea.
(He takes a newspaper from his pocket.)

MARCELLO and COLLINE
The Constitutional!

RODOLFO
Excellent paper...
You eat and devour the news!

SCHAUNARD
Lorito spread his wings,
Lorito opened his beak,
took a peck of parsley,
and died like Socrates!

COLLINE
(to Schaunard)
Who?

SCHAUNARD
Go to the devil, all of you...
Now what are you doing?
No! These delicacies
are the provender
for the dark and gloomy
days in the future.
Dine at home on Christmas Eve
when the Latin Quarter
has decked its streets with eatables?
When the perfume of fritters
is wafted through the ancient streets?
There the girls sing happily...

ALL
It's Christmas Eve!

SCHAUNARD
And each has a student echoing her!
Have some religion, gentlemen:
we drink at home, but we dine out.
(They pour the wine. A knock at the door.)

BENOIT
(outside)
May I come in?

MARCELLO
Who's there?

BENOIT
Benoit.

MARCELLO
The landlord!

SCHAUNARD
Bolt the door.

COLLINE
Nobody's home.

SCHAUNARD
It's locked.

BENOIT
Just one word.

SCHAUNARD
(after consulting the others, opens the door)
Just one!
(Benoit enters.)

BENOIT
(showing a paper)
Rent.

MARCELLO
Here! Give him a chair.

RODOLFO
At once.

BENOIT
Don't bother, I'd like...

SCHAUNARD
Be seated.

MARCELLO
Something to drink?

BENOIT
Thank you.

RODOLFO and COLLINE
A toast.

SCHAUNARD
Drink.
(Benoit sets down his glass and shows the paper to
Marcello.)


BENOIT
This is the bill
for three months' rent...

MARCELLO
That's fine...

BENOIT
Therefore...

SCHAUNARD
Another drop.

BENOIT
Thank you.

THE FOUR
A toast. To your health!

BENOIT
(to Marcello again)
I come to you
because last quarter
you promised me...

MARCELLO
I promised and I'll pay.
(He points to the money on the table.)

RODOLFO
(aside to Marcello)
What are you doing?

SCHAUNARD
Are you crazy?

MARCELLO
(to Benoit, ignoring the others)
You see? Now then
stay with us a moment.
Tell me: how old are you,
dear Monsieur Benoit?

BENOIT
My age?...Spare me!

RODOLFO
Our age, more or less, I'd say.

BENOIT
More, much more.
(They refill his glass.)

COLLINE
He said more or less.

MARCELLO
The other evening at Mabille
they caught him making love.

BENOIT
Me?

MARCELLO
They caught him at Mabille the other evening...
Deny it, then.

BENOIT
An accident.

MARCELLO
A lovely woman!

BENOIT
(half-drunk)
Ah! Very!

SCHAUNARD, then RODOLFO
You rascal!

COLLINE
Seducer!
He's an oak, a ball of fire!

RODOLFO
He's a man of taste.

MARCELLO
With that curly, tawny hair.
How he swaggered, proud and happy!

BENOIT
I'm old but strong.

COLLINE, SCHAUNARD and RODOLFO
How he swaggered, proud and happy!

MARCELLO
Feminine virtue
gave in to him.

BENOIT
I'm paying myself back now
for my shy youth...
my pastime, you know,

a lively woman... a bit...
well, not a whale exactly
or a relief-map of the world
or a face like a full moon,
but not thin, really thin. No!
Thin women are worrisome
and often... a nuisance...
always full of complaints,
for example...
...my wife!
(Marcello rises, feigning moral indignation. The others
do the same.)


MARCELLO
This man has a wife
and foul desires in his heart!

THE OTHERS
Horrors!

RODOLFO
He corrupts and pollutes
our respectable home.

THE OTHERS
Out with him!

MARCELLO
Burn some incense!

COLLINE
Throw out the scoundrel!

SCHAUNARD
Our offended morality expels you!

BENOIT
I say...I...

THE OTHERS
Silence!

BENOIT
My dear sirs...

THE OTHERS
Silence...Out, sir...
Away with you! And good evening
to your worship! Ha! Ha! Ha!
(Benoit is thrown out. Marcello shuts the door.)

MARCELLO
I've paid the rent.

SCHAUNARD
In the Latin Quarter Momus awaits us.

MARCELLO
Long life to him who pays!

SCHAUNARD
We'll divide my loot!

THE OTHERS
Let's divide!
(They share the coins.)

MARCELLO
(giving Colline a mirror)
Beauties are there, come from above.
Now you're rich, you must look presentable.
You bear! Trim your fur.

COLLINE
I'll make my first acquaintance
of a beard-trimmer.
Lead me to the absurd,
outrageous razor.

ALL
Let's go.

RODOLFO
I must stay to finish
my article for
The Beaver.

MARCELLO
Hurry, then!

RODOLFO
Five minutes. I know my trade.

COLLINE
We'll wait for you downstairs.

MARCELLO
You'll hear from us if you dawdle.

RODOLFO
Five minutes.

SCHAUNARD
Cut that Beaver's tail short.
(Rodolfo takes a light and opens the door. The others
start down the stairs.)


MARCELLO
(outside)
Watch the stairs.
Hold on to the railing.

RODOLFO
(raising the light)
Careful.

COLLINE
It's pitch dark.

SCHAUNARD
That damn janitor!

COLLINE
Hell!

RODOLFO
Colline, are you killed?

COLLINE
(from below)
Not yet.

MARCELLO
Come soon.
(Rodolfo closes the door, sets his light on the table and
tries to write. But he tears up the paper and throws the
pen down.)


RODOLFO
I'm not in the mood.
(There's a timid knock at the door.)
Who's there?

MIMÌ
(outside)
Excuse me.

RODOLFO
A woman!

MIMÌ
I'm sorry...my light
has gone out.

RODOLFO
(opening the door)
Here.

MIMÌ
(in the doorway, holding a candlestick and a key)
Would you... ?

RODOLFO
Come in for a moment.

MIMÌ
There's no need.

RODOLFO
Please...come in.
(Mimì enters, and has trouble breathing.)
You're not well?

MIMÌ
No...it's nothing.

RODOLFO
You're pale!

MIMÌ
I'm out of breath...the stairs...
(She faints, and Rodolfo is just in time to support her
and help her to a chair. The key and the candlestick fall
from her hands.)


RODOLFO
Now what shall I do?
(He gets some water and sprinkles her face.)
So.
How ill she looks!
(Mimì comes to.)
Are you better now?

MIMÌ
Yes.

RODOLFO
It's so cold here. Come and sit
by the fire.
(He helps her to a chair by the stove.)
Wait...some wine.

MIMÌ
Thank you.

RODOLFO
Here.

MIMÌ
Just a little.

RODOLFO
There.

MIMÌ
Thank you.

RODOLFO
(What a lovely creature!)

MIMÌ
(rising)
Now, please,
relight my candle.
I'm better now.

RODOLFO
Such a hurry!

MIMÌ
Yes.
(Rodolfo lights her candle for her.)
Thank you. Good evening.

RODOLFO
Good evening.
(Mimì goes out, then reappears at the door.)

MIMÌ
Oh! foolish me!
Where have I left
the key to my room?

RODOLFO
Don't stand in the doorway:
the wind makes your light flicker.
(Her candle goes out.)

MIMÌ
Heavens! Will you relight it?
(Rodolfo hastens to her with his light, but when he
reaches the door, his candle goes out, too. The room is
dark.)

RODOLFO
There...Now mine's out, too.

MIMÌ
Ah! And where can my key be?

RODOLFO
Pitch dark!

MIMÌ
Unlucky me!

RODOLFO
Where can it be?

MIMÌ
You've a bothersome neighbour...

RODOLFO
Not at all.

MIMÌ
You've a bothersome neighbour...

RODOLFO
What do you mean? Not at all!

MIMÌ
Search.

RODOLFO
I'm searching.
(They hunt, touching the floor with their hands.)

MIMÌ
Where can it be?

RODOLFO
Ah!
(He finds the key and pockets it.)

MIMÌ
Did you find it?

RODOLFO
No.

MIMÌ
I thought...

RODOLFO
Truthfully!

MIMÌ
Are you looking for it?

RODOLFO
Yes, I am.
(Guided by her voice, Rodolfo pretends to search as he
draws closer to her. Then his hand meets hers, and he

holds it.)

MIMÌ
(surprised)
Ah!
(They rise. Rodolfo continues to hold Mimì's hand.)

RODOLFO
How cold your little hand is!
Let me warm it for you.
What's the use of searching?
We'll never find it in the dark.
But luckily
there's a moon,
and she's our neighbour here.
Just wait, my dear young lady,
and meanwhile I'll tell you
in a word who and what I am.
Shall I?
(Mimì is silent.)
Who am I? I'm a poet.
My business? Writing.
How do I live? I live.
In my happy poverty
I squander like a prince
my poems and songs of love.
In hopes and dreams
and castles-in-the-air,
I'm a millionaire in spirit.

But sometimes my strong-box
is robbed of all its jewels
by two thieves: a pair of pretty eyes.
They came in now with you
and all my lovely dreams,
my dreams of the past,
were soon stolen away.
But the theft doesn't upset me,
since the empty place was filled
with hope.
Now that you know me,
it's your turn to speak.
Who are you? Will you tell me?

MIMÌ
Yes.
They call me Mimì,
but my real name's Lucia.
My story is brief.
I embroider silk and satin
at home or outside.
I'm tranquil and happy,
and my pastime
is making lilies and roses.
I love all things
that have gentle magic,
that talk of love, of spring,
that talk of dreams and fancies -
the things called poetry...
Do you understand me?

RODOLFO
Yes.

MIMÌ
They call me Mimì -
I don't know why.
I live all by myself
and I eat alone.
I don't often go to church,
but I like to pray.
I stay all alone
in my tiny white room,
I look at the roofs and the sky.
But when spring comes
the sun's first rays are mine.
April's first kiss is mine, is mine!
The sun's first rays are mine!
A rose blossoms in my vase,
I breathe its perfume, petal by petal.
So sweet is the flower's perfume.
But the flowers I make, alas,
the flowers I make, alas,
alas, have no scent.
What else can I say?
I'm your neighbour, disturbing you
at this impossible hour.

SCHAUNARD
(from below)
Hey! Rodolfo!

COLLINE
Rodolfo!

MARCELLO
Hey! Can't you hear?
You slow-coach!

COLLINE
You scribbler!

SCHAUNARD
To hell with that lazy one!
(Rodolfo, impatient, goes to the window to answer.
When the window is opened, the moonlight comes in,
lighting up the room.)


RODOLFO
I've a few more words to write.

MIMÌ
Who are they?

RODOLFO
Friends.

SCHAUNARD
You'll hear about this.

MARCELLO
What are you doing there alone?

RODOLFO
I'm not alone. There's two of us.
Go to Momus and get a table.
We'll be there soon.

MARCELLO, SCHAUNARD and COLLINE
Momus, Momus, Momus.
Quietly, discreetly, we're off.
Momus, Momus.

He's found his poem at last.
(Turning, Rodolfo sees Mimì wrapped in a halo of
moonlight. He contemplates her, in ecstasy.)

RODOLFO
Oh! lovely girl! Oh, sweet face
bathed in the soft moonlight.
I see in you the dream
I'd dream forever!

MIMÌ
(Ah! Love, you rule alone!...)

RODOLFO
Already I taste in spirit
the heights of tenderness!

MIMÌ
(You rule alone, o Love!)

RODOLFO
Already I taste in spirit
the heights of tenderness!
Love trembles in our kiss!

MIMÌ
(How sweet his praises
enter my heart...
Love, you alone rule!)
(Rodolfo kisses her.)
No, please!

RODOLFO
You're mine!

MIMÌ
Your friends are waiting.

RODOLFO
You send me away already?

MIMÌ
I daren't say what I'd like...

RODOLFO
Tell me.

MIMÌ
If I came with you?

RODOLFO
What? Mimì!
It would be so fine to stay here.
Outside it's cold.

MIMÌ
I'd be near you!

RODOLFO
And when we come back?

MIMÌ
Who knows?

RODOLFO
Give me your arm, my dear...

MIMÌ
Your servant, sir...

RODOLFO
Tell me you love me!

MIMÌ
I love you.

RODOLFO and MIMÌ
(as they go out)
Beloved! My love! My love!

ACT TWO

In the Latin Quarter
(A square with shops of all kinds. On one side is the
Café Momus. Mimì and Rodolfo move about with the
crowd. Colline is nearby at a rag-woman's stand.
Schaunard is buying a pipe and a trumpet. Marcello is
pushed here and there by the throng. It is evening.
Christmas Eve.)


HAWKERS
Oranges, dates!
Hot roasted chestnuts!
Crosses, knick-knacks!
Cookies and candies!
Flowers for the ladies!
Pies for sale!
With whipped cream!
Finches and larks!
Dates! Fresh fish!
Coconut milk! Skirts!
Carrots!

THE CROWD
What a throng! Such noise!
Hold tight! Let's run!
Lisa! Emma!
Make way there!
Emma, I'm calling you!
Once more around...
We'll take Rue Mazarine.
I can't breathe here...
See? The café's right here.
What wonderful jewels!
Your eyes are more wonderful!
This crowd tonight
sets a dangerous example!
Things were better in my day!

Long live freedom!
AT THE CAFÉ
Let's go. Here, waiter!
Hurry. On the run.
Come here. My turn.
Beer! A glass!
Vanilla. Liqueur!
Well? Hurry.
Drinks! Coffee...
.Quickly. Hey, there...

SCHAUNARD
(blowing on the trumpet, producing odd sounds)
This D is out of tune.
How much for the horn and the pipe?

COLLINE
fat the rag-woman's, who is sewing up an enormous
overcoat he has just bought)

It's a little worn...

RODOLFO
Let's go.

MIMÌ
Are we going to buy the bonnet?

COLLINE
...But it's cheap and dignified.

RODOLFO
Hold tight to my arm.

MIMÌ
I'll hold you tight.

MIMÌ and RODOLFO
Let's go!
(They go into the milliner's.)

MARCELLO
I, too, feel like shouting:
which of you happy girls wants love?

HAWKERS
Dates! Trout! Plums from Tours!

MARCELLO
Let us make a bargain together -
for a penny I'll sell my virgin heart.

SCHAUNARD
Pushing and shoving and running,
the crowd hastens to its joys,
feeling insane desires -
unappeased.

HAWKERS
Trinkets! Brooches! etc.

COLLINE
(showing a book)
A rare find, truly unique:
a Runic grammar.

SCHAUNARD
(What an honest fellow!)

MARCELLO
Let's eat!

SCHAUNARD and COLLINE
And Rodolfo?

MARCELLO
He went into the milliner's.
(Rodolfo and Mimì come out of the shop.)

RODOLFO
Come, my friends are waiting.

MIMÌ
Is my pink bonnet becoming?

HAWKERS
Whipped cream! Coconut milk!
Pies! Whipped cream!

CAFÉ CUSTOMERS
Waiter! A glass!
Quick. Hey there...
Liqueur.

RODOLFO
You're dark,
that colour suits you.

MIMÌ
(looking back at the shop)
That lovely coral necklace.

RODOLFO
I've a millionaire uncle.
If God acts wisely,
I'll buy you a necklace
much more beautiful...

URCHINS, MIDINETTES, STUDENTS
Ah! ah! ah! etc.

TOWNSPEOPLE
Let's follow these people!
Girls, watch out!
Such noise! What a throng!
We'll take the Rue Mazarine!
I'm stifling, let's go!
See, the cafe's right here!
Let's go there, to Momus!
Ah!...

HAWKERS
Pies for sale! Whipped cream!
Flowers for the ladies!

Knick-knacks, dates, hot roasted chestnuts!
Finches, larks!
Cream cakes!

RODOLFO
Whom are you looking at?

COLLINE
I hate the vulgar herd as Horace did.

MIMÌ
Are you jealous?

RODOLFO
The man who's happy must be
suspicious too.

SCHAUNARD
And when I'm stuffing myself
I want plenty of room about me.

MIMÌ
Are you happy then?

MARCELLO
(to the waiter)
We want a prize dinner.

RODOLFO
Oh yes. Very.

MARCELLO
Quickly.

SCHAUNARD
And bring plenty.

RODOLFO
And you?

MIMÌ
Very.
(Marcello, Schaunard and Colline sit at a table in front
of the café.)


STUDENTS
There, to Momus!

MIDINETTES
Let's go! Let's go!

MARCELLO, COLLINE, SCHAUNARD
Quickly!

VOICE OF PARPIGNOL
(in the distance)
Here are the toys of Parpignol!

RODOLFO
Two places.

COLLINE
At last!

RODOLFO
Here we are! This is Mimì, happy flower-girl.
Her presence alone
makes our company complete.
For...for I am a poet;
and she is poetry itself.

As songs flow from my brain,
the flowers bloom in her hands,
and in joyful spirits
love blossoms also.

MARCELLO
What rare imagery!

COLLINE
Digna est intrari.

SCHAUNARD
Ingrediat si necessit.

COLLINE
I grant only one accessit.

VOICE OF PARPIGNOL
(closer)
Here are the toys of Parpignol!

COLLINE
Salami...
(Parpignol arrives in the square, pushing a barrow
covered with frills and flowers.)


CHILDREN
Parpignol! Parpignol! Parpignol!
Here is Parpignol!
With his cart all decked with flowers!
Here is Parpignol!
I want the horn, the toy horse!
The drum! The tambourine!
I want the cannon; I want the whip,
I want the troop of soldiers.

SCHAUNARD
Roast venison.

MARCELLO
A turkey.

SCHAUNARD
Rhine wine!

COLLINE
Table wine!

SCHAUNARD
Shelled lobster!

MOTHERS
What a bunch of naughty rascals!
What are you doing here now?
Go home to bed, you noisy things.
Slaps will be the least you'll get...
go home to bed,
you bunch of rascals, to bed!

A BOY
I want the horn, the toy horse...

RODOLFO
What will you have, Mimì?

MIMÌ
Some custard.

SCHAUNARD
The best.
A lady's with us.

CHILDREN
Bravo Parpignol!
The drums! The tambourine!
A troop of soldiers!
(They run off, following Parpignol.)

MARCELLO
Tell me, Mimì, what rare gift
Rodolfo has given you?

MIMÌ
An embroidered pink bonnet, all
with lace. It goes well
with my dark hair.
I've longed for such a bonnet
for months...and he read
what was hidden in my heart...
Anyone who can read the heart's secret
knows love...he's such a reader.

SCHAUNARD
He's a professor in the subject.

COLLINE
With diplomas, and his verses
are not a beginner's...

SCHAUNARD
That's why what he says
seems to be true!

MARCELLO
Oh, sweet age of false utopias!
You hope and believe, and all
seems beautiful.

RODOLFO
The sublimest poem, my friend,
is the one which teaches us to love!

MIMÌ
Love is sweet, sweeter than honey.

MARCELLO
That depends: it's honey or gall!

MIMÌ
Heavens! I've offended him!

RODOLFO
He's mourning, Mimì!

SCHAUNARD and COLLINE
Cheer up! A toast!

MARCELLO
Something to drink!

ALL
Away with brooding,
raise your glass.
We'll drink.

MARCELLO
(seeing Musetta enter, laughing)
I'll drink some poison!

SCHAUNARD, COLLINE and RODOLFO
Oh! Musetta!

MARCELLO
Her!

THE SHOPWOMEN
What! Her! Yes! Well! Her!
Musetta!
She's done well for herself! What a dress!
(Musetta stops, accompanied by the old and pompous
Alcindoro. She sits at another table in front of the
café.)


ALCINDORO
Running like a porter
back and forth...
No, it's not proper.

MUSETTA
(calling Alcindoro as if he were a dog)
Here, Lulu!

ALCINDORO
I can't take any more.

MUSETTA
Come, Lulu.

SCHAUNARD
That ugly old fool's all in a lather!

ALCINDORO
What? Outside? Here?

MUSETTA
Sit, Lulu.

ALCINDORO
Please, save these
little nicknames of yours
for when we're alone.

MUSETTA
Don't act like Bluebeard!

COLLINE
He's evil behind that front!

MARCELLO
With the chaste Susanna.

MIMÌ
But she's beautifully dressed.

RODOLFO
Angels go naked.

MIMÌ
You know her? Who is she?

MARCELLO
Ask me that question.
Her first name's Musetta.
Her last name's Temptation.
Her occupation is being
a leaf in the wind...
Always turning, changing
her lovers and her loves...
Like the screech-owl
she's a bird of prey.
Her favourite food

is the heart...she devours them!
And so I have no heart.

MUSETTA
(Marcello's has seen me...
But the coward won't look at me.
And that Schaunard's laughing!
They all make me livid!
If I could just hit them!
Scratch their eyes out!
But I've got this old
pelican on my hands.
Just wait!)
Waiter!

MARCELLO
(hiding his emotion)
Pass me the stew.

MUSETTA
Hey! Waiter! This plate
smells dirty to me!
(throwing the plate on the ground)

ALCINDORO
No, Musetta! Quiet, now!

MUSETTA
(He won't look.)

ALCINDORO
Quiet, now. Manners! Please!

MUSETTA
(He won't look.)

ALCINDORO
To whom are you speaking?

COLLINE
This chicken is a poem!

MUSETTA
(Now I'll hit him, I'll hit him!)

ALCINDORO
Who are you talking to?

MUSETTA
To the waiter. Don't be a bore!

SCHAUNARD
The wine is excellent.

MUSETTA
I want my own way!

ALCINDORO
Lower your voice!

MUSETTA
I'll do as I please!

ALCINDORO
Lower your voice!

MUSETTA
Don't be a bore!

MIDINETTES and STUDENTS
Look, look who it is,
Musetta herself!
With that stuttering old man,
it's Musetta herself!
Ha ha ha ha ha!

MUSETTA
(But could he be jealous of this mummy?)

ALCINDORO
Decorum...my rank...my reputation!

MUSETTA
(Let's see if I still
have enough power over him
to make him give in.)

SCHAUNARD
The play is stupendous!

MUSETTA
(looking at Marcello)
You aren't looking at me.

ALCINDORO
Can't you see I'm ordering?

SCHAUNARD
The play is stupendous!

COLLINE
Stupendous!

RODOLFO
(to Mimì)
Let me tell you now:
I'd never be forgiving.

SCHAUNARD
She speaks to one for the other to hear.

MIMÌ
(to Rodolfo)
I love you so, and I'm
all yours...
Why speak of forgiveness?

COLLINE
(to Schaunard)
And the other, cruel, in vain
pretends he is deaf,
but enjoys it all.

MUSETTA
But your heart is beating like a hammer.

ALCINDORO
Lower your voice.

MUSETTA
But your heart is beating like a hammer.

ALCINDORO
Lower your voice.

MUSETTA
As I walk alone
through the streets,
the people stop to look
and inspect my beauty,

examining me
from head to toe.

MARCELLO
Tie me to the chair!

ALCINDORO
What will people say?

MUSETTA
And then I savour the subtle
longing in their eyes
when, from my visible charms,
they guess at the beauty concealed.
This onrush of desire
surrounds me.
It delights me, it delights me.

ALCINDORO
(This scurrilous song
infuriates me!)

MUSETTA
And you who know, who remember and suffer,
how can you escape?
I know: you won't admit
that you're in torment,
but it's killing you.

MIMÌ
I can tell that the poor girl
is head over heels in love with Marcello.

ALCINDORO
What will people say?

RODOLFO
Marcello loved her once...

SCHAUNARD
Ah! Marcello will give in!

RODOLFO
...The flirt ran off...

COLLINE
Who knows what'll happen!

RODOLFO
...to find
a better life.

SCHAUNARD
The snare is equally sweet
to hunter and hunted.

COLLINE
Gods above! I'd never land myself
in such a situation!

MUSETTA
(Ah, Marcello's going mad!
Marcello is vanquished!)

ALCINDORO
Lower your voice! Be quiet!

MIMÌ
I feel so sorry for the poor girl.

COLLINE
She's lovely - I'm not blind...

MIMÌ
(nestling close to Rodolfo)
I love you!

SCHAUNARD
(The braggart is about to yield!
The play is stupendous!
Marcello will give in!)
(to Colline)
If such a pretty creature
stopped and talked to you,
you'd gladly send to the devil
all your bearish philosophy.

RODOLFO
Mimì!
Love is weak
when it leaves wrongs unavenged.
Love, once dead, cannot be revived, etc.

MIMÌ
I feel so sorry for the poor girl.
Love is sad when it's unforgiving.
I feel so sorry, etc.

COLLINE
...but I'm much happier
with my pipe and a Greek text.
She's beautiful, I'm not blind, etc.

ALCINDORO
Mind your manners! Be quiet!

MUSETTA
I know: you won't admit your torment.
Ah! but you feel like dying!
(to Alcindoro)
I'll do as I please,
I'll do as I like,
don't be a bore, a bore, a bore!
(Now to get rid of the old man.)
(pretending a pain)
Ouch!

ALCINDORO
What is it?

MUSETTA
The pain! The pain!

ALCINDORO
Where?

MUSETTA
My foot!

MARCELLO
(My youth, you're still alive,
your memory's not dead...
If you came to my door,
my heart would open it!)

MUSETTA
Loosen it! Untie it! Break it! Tear it!
Please!
There's a shoemaker nearby.
Run quickly! I want another pair!

Ah, how it pinches, this damn tight shoe!
I'll take it off...here it is.
Run, go on, run! Hurry, hurry!

MIMÌ
(I can see she's madly in love with Marcello.)

RODOLFO
(I can see: the play's stupendous!)

ALCINDORO
How unwise!
What will people say?
My reputation!
Do you want to ruin it?
Wait! Musetta! I'm going!
(He hurries off.)

COLLINE and SCHAUNARD
(The play is stupendous!)

MUSETTA
Marcello!

MARCELLO
Siren!
(They embrace passionately.)

SCHAUNARD
Here's the finale!
(The waiter brings the bill.)

ALL
The bill!

SCHAUNARD
So soon?

COLLINE
Who asked for it?

SCHAUNARD
Let's see.

COLLINE and RODOLFO
It's high!
(Drums are heard approaching.)

RODOLFO, SCHAUNARD and COLLINE
Out with the money!

SCHAUNARD
Colline, Rodolfo and you, Marcello?

CHILDREN
The Tattoo!

MARCELLO
I'm broke!

SCHAUNARD
What?

MIDINETTES, STUDENTS
The Tattoo!

RODOLFO
I've only got thirty sous.

TOWNSPEOPLE
The Tattoo!

MARCELLO, SCHAUNARD and COLLINE
What? No more money?

SCHAUNARD
Where's my wealth?

URCHINS
Are they coming this way?

MUSETTA
(to the waiter)
Give me my bill.

MIDINETTES, STUDENTS
No! That way!

URCHINS
They're coming that way!

MIDINETTES, STUDENTS
They're coming this way!

URCHINS
No, that way!

MUSETTA
Good!

TOWNSPEOPLE, HAWKERS
Make way! Make way!

CHILDREN
I want to see! I want to hear!

MUSETTA
Quick, add these two bills together...
The gentleman who was with me will pay.

MOTHERS
Lisetta, please be quiet.
Tonio, stop that at once!

GIRLS
Mamma, I want to see.
Papa, I want to hear.

RODOLFO, MARCELLO, SCHAUNARD, COLLINE
The gentleman will pay!

CHILDREN
I want to see the Tattoo!

MOTHERS
Please be quiet! Stop that at once!

MIDINETTES
They're coming this way!

TOWNSPEOPLE
They're coming that way!

TOWNSPEOPLE, STUDENTS, HAWKERS
Yes, this way!

URCHINS
When it comes by,
we'll march with it!

COLLINE, SCHAUNARD, MARCELLO
The gentleman will pay!

MUSETTA
And here, where he was sitting,
he'll find my farewell!
(putting the bill on the chair)

TOWNSPEOPLE
That drum-roll expresses
our country's glory.

RODOLFO, COLLINE, SCHAUNARD, MARCELLO
And here, where he was sitting,
he'll find her farewell!

THE CROWD
Make way, make way, here they come!

URCHINS
Hey! Look out, here they are!

MARCELLO
Now the Guard is coming!

THE CROWD
All in line!

COLLINE, MARCELLO
Don't let the old fool see us
make off with his prize.

RODOLFO
The Guard is coming!

MARCELLO, SCHAUNARD, COLLINE
That crowded throng
will be our hiding-place.

THE CROWD
Here's the drum-major! Prouder
than an ancient warrior! The drum-major!

MIMÌ, MUSETTA, RODOLFO, MARCELLO, SCHAUNARD, COLLINE
Hurry! Let's run off!

THE CROWD
The Sappers! The Sappers, hooray!
Here's the drum-major!
Like a general!
The Tattoo is here!
Here he is, the handsome drum-major!
The golden baton, all a-glitter!
See, he looks at us as he goes past!

RODOLFO, MARCELLO, SCHAUNARD, COLLINE
Bravo Musetta! Artful minx!
Glory and honour, the glory and honour
of the Latin Quarter!

THE CROWD
All a-glitter!
The handsomest man in France,
the drum-major!
Here he is! See, he looks at us as he goes past!
(Since Musetta cannot walk with only one shoe,
Marcello and Colline carry her on their shoulders. They
all follow the guards and disappear. Alcindoro comes
back with a new pair of shoes, and the waiter hands
him the bill. When he sees the amount and sees
nobody around, Alcindoro falls, bewildered, onto a chair.)


ACT THREE

The Barrière d'Enfer

(Beyond the tollgate is the main highway. At left, a
tavern. A small square flanked by plane trees. Some
customs officers are asleep around a brazier. Shouts
and laughter issue from the cabaret. Dawn. February.
The snow is everywhere. Some street-sweepers are
beyond the gate, stamping their feet in the cold.)


SWEEPERS
Hey, there! Guards! Open up!
We're the sweepers from Gentilly.
It's snowing. Hey! We're freezing here.

CUSTOMS OFFICER
(yawning)
I'm coming.

VOICES FROM THE TAVERN
Some find pleasure
in their cups,
and on ardent lips
find love.

VOICE OF MUSETTA
Ah! Pleasure is in the glass!
Love lies on young lips.

VOICES FROM THE TAVERN
Tra la la la
Eve and Noah.

VOICES FROM THE HIGHWAY
Houp-la! Giddap!

CUSTOMS OFFICER
Here come the milkmaids!
(He opens the gate. The milkmaids enter together with
a string of peasants' carts.)


MILKMAIDS
Good morning!

PEASANT WOMEN
Butter and cheese!
Chickens and eggs!
Which way are you going?
To Saint Michel!
Shall we meet later?
Yes, at noon.
(They go off. Enter Mimì. When she reaches the first
tree, she has a fit of coughing. Then recovering herself,
she says to the sergeant:)


MIMÌ
Excuse me, where's the tavern
where a painter is working?

SERGEANT
There it is.

MIMÌ
Thank you.
(A waitress comes out of the tavern. Mimì approaches her.)
Oh, good woman, please...
Be good enough to find me
Marcello, the painter.
I must see him quickly.
Tell him Mimì's waiting.

SERGEANT
(to someone coming in)
Hey! that basket!

CUSTOMS OFFICER
Empty!

SERGEANT
Let him through.
(Marcello comes out of the tavern.)

MARCELLO
Mimì?!

MIMÌ
I hoped I'd find you here.

MARCELLO
That's right. We've been here
a month, at the host's expense.
Musetta teaches
the guests singing.

And I paint those warriors
by the door there.
It's cold. Come inside.

MIMÌ
Is Rodolfo there?

MARCELLO
Yes.

MIMÌ
I can't go in. No, no!

MARCELLO
Why not?

MIMÌ
Oh! help me, good Marcello! Help me!

MARCELLO
What's happened?

MIMÌ
Rodolfo - he loves me
but flees from me, torn
by jealousy. A glance, a gesture,
a smile, a flower arouses
his suspicions, then anger, rage...
Sometimes at night I pretend
to sleep, and I feel his eyes
trying to spy on my dreams.
He shouts at me all the time:
"You're not for me.
Find another.

You're not for me."
I know it's his jealousy speaking,
but what can I answer, Marcello?

MARCELLO
When two people are like you two,
they can't live together.

MIMÌ
You're right. We should separate.
Help us, Marcello, help us.
We've tried
again and again, but in vain.

MARCELLO
I take Musetta lightly,
and she behaves like me.
We love light-heartedly.
Laughter and song - that's the secret
of a lasting love.

MIMÌ
You're right, you're right.
We should separate.
Do as you think best.

MARCELLO
All right. I'll wake him up.

MIMÌ
Is he sleeping?

MARCELLO
He stumbled in here
an hour before dawn

and fell asleep on a bench.
Look at him...
(Mimì coughs.)
What a cough!

MIMÌ
I've been aching all over since
yesterday. He fled during the night, saying:
"It's all over." I set out
at dawn and came here
to find you.

MARCELLO
(watching Rodolfo through the window)
He's waking up. He's looking
for me...Here he comes.

MIMÌ
He mustn't see me.

MARCELLO
Go home now, Mimì.
For God's sake, no scenes here.
(Mimì hides behind a tree, Rodolfo hastens out of the
tavern.)

RODOLFO
Marcello! At last!
No one can hear us here.
I've got to leave Mimì.

MARCELLO
Are you as fickle as that?

RODOLFO
Already once before I thought
my heart was dead.
But it revived at the gleam
of her blue eyes.
Now boredom assails it...

MARCELLO
And you'll bury it again?

RODOLFO
Forever!

MARCELLO
Change your ways!
Gloomy love is madness
and brews only tears.
If it doesn't laugh and glow
love has no strength or voice.
You're jealous.

RODOLFO
A little.

MARCELLO
You're raving mad,
a mass of suspicions,
a boor, a mule!

MIMÌ
(He'll make him angry.
Poor me!)

RODOLFO
Mimì's just a flirt
toying with them all.
A foppish Viscount eyes her
with longing. She shows him
her ankles, promising,
luring him on.

MARCELLO
Must I tell you?
You aren't being honest.

RODOLFO
All right, then. I'm not.
I try in vain to hide
what really torments me.
I love Mimì more than the world.
I love her! But I'm afraid...
Mimì is terribly ill,
weaker every day.
The poor little thing
is doomed...

MARCELLO
Mimì?

MIMÌ
(What does he mean?)

RODOLFO
A horrible coughing
racks her fragile chest...
Her pale cheeks
are flushed...

MARCELLO
Poor Mimì!

MIMÌ
(Am I dying? Alas!)

RODOLFO
My room's like a cave.
The fire has gone out.
The wind, the winter wind
roars through it.
She laughs and sings;
I'm seized with remorse.
I'm the cause of the illness
that's killing her.

MARCELLO
What's to be done?

MIMÌ
(Oh! my life! It's over!
Alas! To die! etc.)

RODOLFO
Mimì's a hothouse flower,
blighted by poverty.
To bring her back to life
love's not enough.

MARCELLO
Poor thing. Poor Mimì!
(Mimì sobs and coughs.)

RODOLFO
What, Mimì? You here!
You heard me?

MARCELLO
She was listening then.

RODOLFO
I'm easily frightened,
worked up over nothing.
Come inside where it's warm.
(He tries to lead her inside.)

MIMÌ
No. It's so close. I'd suffocate.
(Musetta's laughter comes from inside.)

RODOLFO
Ah, Mimì!

MARCELLO
That's Musetta laughing.
And with whom?
The flirt! I'll teach her.
(Marcello runs into the tavern.)

MIMÌ
(to Rodolfo)
Goodbye.

RODOLFO
What? You're going?

MIMÌ
Back to the place I left
at the call of your love,

I'm going back alone
to my lonely nest
to make false flowers.
Goodbye...no hard feelings.
But listen.
Please gather up the few things
I've left behind. In the trunk
there's the little bracelet
and my prayer book. Wrap them
in an apron and I'll send
someone for them...
Wait! Under the pillow
there's my pink bonnet.
If you want...keep it in memory
of our love. Goodbye, no hard feelings.

RODOLFO
So it's really over.
You're leaving, my little one?
Goodbye to our dreams of love.

MIMÌ
Goodbye to our sweet wakening.

RODOLFO
Goodbye, life in a dream.

MIMÌ
Goodbye, doubts and jealousies...

RODOLFO
...That one smile of yours could dispel.

MIMÌ
Goodbye, suspicions...

RODOLFO
Kisses...

MIMÌ
...Poignant bitterness...

RODOLFO
...That, like a poet,
I made rhyme with caress.

RODOLFO and MIMÌ
To be alone in winter is death!

MIMÌ
Alone...

RODOLFO and MIMÌ
But when the spring comes
the sun is our companion.

MIMÌ
The sun is our companion.
(Marcello and Musetta come out, quarrelling.)

MARCELLO
What were you doing and saying
by the fire with that man?

MUSETTA
What do you mean? What do you mean?

MIMÌ
Nobody's lonely in April.

MARCELLO
When I came in
you blushed suddenly.

MUSETTA
The man was asking me...
"Do you like dancing, Miss?"

RODOLFO
One can speak to roses and lilies.

MIMÌ
Birds twitter softly in their nests.

MARCELLO
Vain, empty-headed flirt!

MUSETTA
I blushed and answered:
"I could dance day and night!"

MARCELLO
That speech conceals
infamous desires.

MUSETTA
I want complete freedom.

MARCELLO
I'll teach you a thing or two...

RODOLFO and MIMÌ
With the coming of spring,
the sun is our companion!

MUSETTA
What do you think
you're saying?
We're not married, after all.

MARCELLO
...If I catch you flirting!
Keep in mind, no horns
will grow under my hat.

MUSETTA
I can't stand lovers
who act just like husbands.

RODOLFO and MIMÌ
The fountains whisper,
the evening breeze heals the pain
of human creatures...

MARCELLO
I won't be laughed at
by some young upstart.
Vain, empty-headed flirt!
You're leaving? I thank you,
I'll be a rich man then.

MUSETTA
I'll flirt with whom I please.
You don't like it?
I'll flirt with whom I please.
Musetta goes her way.

MARCELLO and MUSETTA
Goodbye.

RODOLFO and MIMÌ
Shall we wait
until spring comes again?

MUSETTA
I bid you, sir,
farewell - with pleasure!

MARCELLO
Your servant, and I'm off!

MUSETTA
(leaving)
You house-painter!

MARCELLO
Viper!

MUSETTA
Toad!

MARCELLO
(re-entering the tavern)
Witch!

MIMÌ
Always yours...all my life.

RODOLFO and MIMÌ
We'll part when the flowers bloom!

MIMÌ
I wish that winter
would last forever!

RODOLFO and MIMÌ
We'll part when the flowers bloom!

ACT FOUR

The garret

(Marcello once more at his easel; Rodolfo at his table.
They try to work, but instead they are talking.)


MARCELLO
In a coupé?

RODOLFO
With footmen and horses.
She greeted me, laughing.
"So, Musetta," I said,
"your heart?"
"It doesn't beat - at least I don't feel it,
thanks to the velvet that covers it."

MARCELLO
I'm glad, really glad.

RODOLFO
(Faker, go on! You're laughing
and fretting inside.)

MARCELLO
Not beating? Good.
I also saw...

RODOLFO
Musetta?

MARCELLO
Mimì

RODOLFO
You saw her?
(with pretended unconcern)
Really?

MARCELLO
She was in a carriage,
dressed like a queen.

RODOLFO
That's fine. I'm delighted.

MARCELLO
(The liar! Love's consuming him.)

RODOLFO
Let's get to work.

MARCELLO
Yes, to work.
(They start working, but quickly throw down brush and pen.)

RODOLFO
This pen is terrible!

MARCELLO
So is this brush!

RODOLFO
(O Mimì, you won't return!
O lovely days! Those tiny hands,
those sweet-smelling locks,
that snowy neck! Ah! Mimì!
My short-lived youth.)

MARCELLO
(I don't understand how my brush
works and mixes colours
to spite me.
Whether I want to paint
earth or sky, spring
or winter, the brush
outlines two dark eyes
and inviting lips,
and Musetta's face appears... )

RODOLFO
(And you, little pink bonnet
that she hid under the pillow
as she left, you know
all of our joy.
Come to my heart,
my heart that died
when our love died.)

MARCELLO
(Her face appears,
so lovely and so false.
Meanwhile Musetta is happy
and my cowardly heart
calls her, and waits for her.)

RODOLFO
What time is it?

MARCELLO
It's time for dinner...
Yesterday's dinner.

RODOLFO
And Schaunard's not back.
(Schaunard comes in and sets four rolls on the table.
Colline is with him.)


SCHAUNARD
Here we are.

RODOLFO and MARCELLO
Well?

MARCELLO
Well? Just bread?

COLLINE
A dish worthy of Demosthenes:
A herring...

SCHAUNARD
...salted.

COLLINE
Dinner's on the table.
(They sit down.)

MARCELLO
This is like a feast day
in wonderland.

SCHAUNARD
(puts the water-bottle in Colline's hat)
Now let's put
the champagne on ice.

RODOLFO
Which do you choose, Baron,
salmon or trout?

MARCELLO
Well, Duke, how about
some parrot-tongue?

SCHAUNARD
Thanks, but it's fattening.
I must dance this evening.
(Colline gets up.)

RODOLFO
Full already?

COLLINE
I'm in a hurry.
The King is waiting for me.

MARCELLO
Is there some plot?

RODOLFO, MARCELLO, SCHAUNARD
Some mystery?

COLLINE
The King has asked me
to join his Cabinet.

MARCELLO. RODOLFO, SCHAUNARD
Fine!

COLLINE
So...I'll see Guizot!

SCHAUNARD
Pass me the goblet.

MARCELLO
Here. Drink. I'll eat.

SCHAUNARD
By the leave...
of this noble company...

RODOLFO and MARCELLO
Enough!

MARCELLO
Weakling!

COLLINE
What a concoction!

MARCELLO
Get out of here!

COLLINE
The goblet, please!

SCHAUNARD
I'm irresistibly inspired
by the Muse of poetry...

THE OTHERS
No!

SCHAUNARD
Something choreographic then?

THE OTHERS
Yes.

SCHAUNARD
Dance with vocal accompaniment!

COLLINE
Let the hall be cleared.
A gavotte.

MARCELLO
Minuet.

RODOLFO
Pavane.

SCHAUNARD
Fandango.

COLLINE
I suggest the quadrille.

RODOLFO
Take your lady's arm.

COLLINE
I'll call the figures.

SCHAUNARD
La lera la lera la!

RODOLFO
(gallantly, to Marcello)
Lovely maiden...

MARCELLO
Please, sir,
respect my modesty.

COLLINE
Balancez.

SCHAUNARD
The Rond comes first.

COLLINE
No, damn it.

SCHAUNARD
What boorish manners!

COLLINE
Your provoking me, I believe.
Draw your sword.

SCHAUNARD
Ready. Lay on.
I'll drink your blood.
(Colline takes the fire-tongs and Schaunard the poker.
They fight as the others sing.)


COLLINE
One of us will be run through!

SCHAUNARD
Have a stretcher ready!

COLLINE
And a graveyard too!

RODOLFO and MARCELLO
While the battle rages,
the dancers circle and leap.
(Musetta enters.)

MARCELLO
Musetta!

MUSETTA
Mimì's here...she's coming
and she's ill.

RODOLFO
Where is she?

MUSETTA
She couldn't find strength
to climb all the stairs.

RODOLFO
Ah!
(Rodolfo hastens out to Mimì, who is seated on the last
step. Then they carry her into the room and place her
on the bed.)


SCHAUNARD
We'll move the bed closer.

RODOLFO
Here. Something to drink.

MIMÌ
Rodolfo.

RODOLFO
Rest now. Don't speak.

MIMÌ
O my Rodolfo!
You want me here with you?

RODOLFO
Ah! My Mimì!
Always, always!

MUSETTA
(aside, to the others)
I heard Mimì had fled
from the Viscount and was dying.
Where was she? I sought her...
Just now I saw her in the street
stumbling along. She said:
"I can't last long.
I know I'm dying...
But I want to die with him...
Perhaps he's waiting for me... "

MARCELLO
Sh!

MIMÌ
I feel much better...

MUSETTA
"...Please take me, Musetta?"

MIMÌ
Let me look around.
How wonderful it is here.
I'll recover... I will...
I feel life here again.
You won't leave me ever...

RODOLFO
Beloved lips,
you speak to me again.

MUSETTA
What is there in the house?

MARCELLO
Nothing.

MUSETTA
No coffee? No wine?

MARCELLO
Nothing. Poverty!

SCHAUNARD
She'll be dead within half an hour!

MIMÌ
I'm so cold.
If I had a muff!
Won't these hands of mine
ever be warm?

RODOLFO
Here. In mine. Don't speak.
You'll tire yourself.

MIMÌ
It's just a little cough.
I'm used to it.
Hello, Marcello,
Schaunard, Colline...
All of you are here,
smiling at Mimì.

RODOLFO
Don't speak, don't...

MIMÌ
I'll speak softly. Don't fear.
Marcello, believe me -
Musetta is so good.

MARCELLO
(holds Musetta's hand)
I know. I know.

MUSETTA
(gives her earrings to Marcello)
Here. Sell them. Bring
back some cordial
and send the doctor!

RODOLFO
Rest now!

MIMÌ
You won't leave me?

RODOLFO
No! No!

MUSETTA
Listen!
Perhaps it's the poor thing's
last request.
I'll get the muff.
I'm coming with you.

MARCELLO
How good you are, Musetta.
(Marcello and Musetta go out.)

COLLINE
(taking off his greatcoat)
Listen, my venerable coat,
I'm staying behind, you'll
go on to greater heights.
I give you my thanks.
You never bowed your worn back
to the rich or powerful.
You held in your pockets
poets and philosophers
as if in tranquil grottoes...
Now that those happy times
have fled, I bid you farewell,
faithful old friend. Farewell.
(He puts the bundle under his arm, then whispers to
Schaunard:)
Schaunard, each separately,
let's combine two kindly acts;
mine is this...and you...
leave the two of them alone.

SCHAUNARD
Philosopher, you're right!
I'll go along.
(They leave.)

MIMÌ
Have they gone? I pretended to sleep
because I wanted to be alone with you.
I've so many things to tell you,
or just one thing - huge as the sea,
deep and infinite as the sea. ..
I love you...you're all my life.

RODOLFO
Ah! my beautiful Mimì!

MIMÌ
Am I beautiful still?

RODOLFO
Beautiful as the dawn.

MIMÌ
You've mistaken the image:
you should have said,
beautiful as the sunset.
"They call me Mimì...
but I don't know why."

RODOLFO
The swallow has come back
to her nest to twitter.
(He takes the bonnet from its place over his heart.)

MIMÌ
My bonnet!
My bonnet!
Ah! do you remember
when I came in here
the first time?

RODOLFO
Do I remember!

MIMÌ
The light had gone out.

RODOLFO
You were so upset.
Then you lost your key...

MIMÌ
And you knelt to hunt for it!

RODOLFO
I searched and searched...

MIMÌ
My dear sir,
now I can tell you:
you found it quick enough.

RODOLFO
I was helping Fate.

MIMÌ
It was dark. You couldn't
see me blushing.
"How cold your little hand is...
Let me warm it for you..."
It was dark. You took
my hand in yours...
(Mimì has another spasm, a fit of choking.)

RODOLFO
Good God! Mimì!
(Schaunard enters at that moment.)

SCHAUNARD
What's wrong?

MIMÌ
Nothing. I'm fine.

RODOLFO
Please...don't talk.

MIMÌ
Yes, yes forgive me.
Now I'll be good.
(Marcello and Musetta come back, then Colline.
Musetta sets a candle on the table.)


MUSETTA
Is she sleeping?

RODOLFO
She's resting.

MARCELLO
I saw the doctor.
He's coming. I made him hurry.
Here's the cordial.

MIMÌ
Who's speaking?

MUSETTA
(handing her the muff)
Me. Musetta.

MIMÌ
Oh, how lovely and soft it is.
No more, no more...my hands all
ugly and cold...The warmth will heal them.
(to Rodolfo)
Did you give it to me?

MUSETTA
Yes, he did.

MIMÌ
You spendthrift!
Thank you...but the cost...
You're crying? I'm well.
Why are you crying like this?
Here, beloved...with you always!
My hands...the warmth...to sleep.
(Silence.)

RODOLFO
What did the doctor say?

MARCELLO
He's coming.

MUSETTA
(praying)
Oh blessed Mother,
be merciful to this poor child
who doesn't deserve to die.
(breaking off, to Marcello)
We need a screen here;
the candle's flickering.
(Marcello sets a book on the table which acts as a
screen.)


That's better.
Let her get well,
Holy Mother, I know
I'm unworthy of forgiveness,
but Mimì is an angel
come down from heaven.

RODOLFO
I still have hope.
You think it's serious?

MUSETTA
I don't think so.
(Schaunard approaches the bed.)

SCHAUNARD
(softly to Marcello)
Marcello, she's dead.

COLLINE
(enters, and gives money to Musetta)
Here, Musetta.
How is she?

RODOLFO
You see, she's resting.
(Rodolfo becomes aware of the strange expression of the others.)
What does this mean?
This going back and forth?
Why are you looking at me like this?

MARCELLO
Courage.
(Rodolfo runs over to the bed.)

RODOLFO
Mimì! Mimì! Mimì!

THE END
libretto by William Fense Weaver 

 

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