Love burns bright in Puccini’s poignant portrait of friendship and romance among a charming group of impoverished bohemians in nineteenth-century France. The opera that inspired Rent, La bohème is beloved for its soaring melodies, including the famed “Musetta’s Waltz” and “O soave fanciulla,” and bittersweet romance—all held afloat by the infectious spirit of its central artists, who face life’s challenges with humor, resilience, and poetry.