The world's first performance of Puccini's opera La bohème of NCPA's version is to be on the stage during its first Opera Festival.

La bohème, is a classical four-act opera of the Italian opera master Puccini. Since its appearance in 1896, La bohème has been famous for its magnificent musical ballad, its delicate emotion and its eternal true love, and has become an everlasting classic on the opera stage. In this opera Puccini organically integrates youth, life, love, art, persistence and loneliness with the mournful but touching scenes of every act. Having been sung from generation to generation for over a hundred years, this opera brings quite a lot of excitement to numerous hearts.

Puccini's opera La bohème of NCPA's version is another original opera treasure after Turandot, Le Roi d'Ys and Madama Butterfly that the NCPA has composed with all its might. Chen Xinyi, the director, and Lv Jia, the famous oversea Chinese conductor, once more jointly perform Puccini's classic opera in a Chinese style. The production team makes a bold conception and sets the story in contemporary artists' collecting center — Beijing 798 Art Zone, well known among Chinese people, and decodes this classic under a brand new concept. The director Chen Xinyi and  famous foreign Chinese conductor Lv Jia will once more hold his baton. Chinese and Italian opera artists will jointly perform the classic of contemporary times.

Synopsis
The poet Rodolfo, the painter Marcello, the musician Schaunard, and the philosopher Calline, live together in a damaged attic in Paris. Although their life is poor, they are quite confident. One day, Rodolfo meets the needlewoman Mimi and falls in love with her and then brings her to the restaurant where his friends are holding a party. Marcello's former lover Musetta brings an old man Alcindoro who chases her, but she wants to make it up with Marcello, so she manages to evade from Alcindoro and makes it up with Marcello. Several months later their love deteriorates, and the love between Mimi and Rodolfo is also on the verge of breaking. Mimi catches a serious lung disease, and when she comes to meet Rodolfo for the last time she makes it up with Rodolfo and begins to plan the future. However, Mimi still dies at last, and Rodolfo is quite grief-stricken. Musetta and Marcello learn a lot from this and they are reconciled again.

Cast
Rodolfo     Vittorio Grigòlo (May 1 / 3)
                 Warren Mok (May 2 / 4)
Mimi         Chiara Taigi (May 1 / 3)
                 Yao Hong (May 2 / 4)
Musetta     Ma Mei
Marcello    Sun Li