Notes researched & written by Joan Olsson
GIACOMO PUCCINI
1858 — 1924
Donde Lieta Usci, aria from LA BOHEME 1896
For centuries operas were dominated by larger-than-life characters that featured kings, queens, gods, goddesses and mythic figures, all holding the power of life and death over the common people. What evolved from this grandeur was a style known as verismo (reality), whereby composers started writing operas about the joys, sorrows, conflicts and misunderstandings of ordinary people.
Giacomo Puccini became one of the finest composers of verismo opera, with La Boheme as a prime example of this style. In the third act, in which this aria appears, two lovers (impoverished artist Rudolfo and his beloved Mimi) are coming to a parting of the ways due to her terminal illness of tuberculosis and his inability to help in her declining health. Mimi bids goodbye to Rudolfo in the loosely translated aria: “I now return alone to my solitary nest to weave together fake flowers, and I bid you a good-bye without resentment. I have gathered little things in my drawer — your ring and a book of prayers which the concierge will get for you. The pink bonnet you gave me is on my pillow. Keep them all as a memory of life. Again, good-bye without resentment.”