La Bohème - San Francisco Opera

Mimì's Illness
One of the strongest thematic currents in La bohème is Mimì’s illness. It is such a strong
force in the opera that it nearly becomes another character, motivating the action from
beginning to end. It is the force moving underneath her first encounter with Rodolfo, and
colors their relationship from the first moment they meet, through their poverty-plagued life
together, to her death at the end of the opera. What is this illness that haunts this love
story? In 19th-century literature, it was commonly referred to as consumption, The White
Plague of Europe, or the wasting disease. Today we know it as tuberculosis or TB.
Tuberculosis has been around for a very long time. It is a bacterium that has existed
on earth for about 7,000 years and infects many different types of mammals, including
cattle, birds, fish, and even small reptiles. There is no answer to the question of how the
bacterium first got started, but some researchers believe that it might have started as a
micro-organism that once grew in the soil. It shows up in archeological evidence from the
North American continent and from the Asian continent from about 2,000 B.C.E. Ancient
Greek records claim that tuberculosis was the worst of all diseases known at the time. It
first made its debut appearance on the European mainland about 2,500 – 1,500 B.C.E. and
arrived in Britain about 1,000 years after that. In the Dark Ages, and early Middle Ages, it
spread and grew in strength. It was known as the "King's Evil," and it was believed that
only a miracle brought about by the King’s laying on of hands could cure a sick person.
tuberculosis bacterium
In 19th century Europe, consumption, as it was known at the time, ran rampant throughout
society. Since the 18th century one out of every four people living in Europe had died of
the disease. Even in the United States, the death rate was very high, with New York City
one of the worst affected cities in the world. Nineteenth century pianist and composer
Frédéric Chopin (one of George Sand's lovers – see Bohemians in Paris, 1830) suffered
from the disease, as did a number of famous artists. Of course, there was an epidemic
going on, and literally millions of people were sick, but because the plight of these artists
was publicized, the public began to make a connection between creativity and sickness.
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