Grand Opera At Its Grandest: Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème The heartbreaking story of opera's most famous young lovers returns to the Straz Center in Puccini’s La Bohème. With some of the most beautiful and best-known arias in all of opera, it’s sumptuous score evokes the high romance of the 19th century Paris where a candle flickers out, tentative hands meet in the dark, and a rapturous duet soars under the moonlight. Follow the tale of young Parisians who live an exuberant bohemian existence, surviving on love and laughter. A poet discovers true love with a lovely, fragile seamstress. A painter and a vivacious cabaret singer rediscover their on-again, off-again passion. Surrounded by the evocative rooftops, cafés and garrets of Paris, these lively bohemians and their companions experience exhilarating joy and irretrievable loss. Daniel Lipton conducts an international cast, plus the Opera Tampa Chorus and Orchestra. Performances presented by The Helen Torres Foundation Sung in Italian with English translations above the stage