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A Fragment From Act Ii Of Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme, Linda B. Fairtile

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This manuscript transmits ten measures from the so-called "Sextet" in the opera's second act, corresponding to pages 207 (measure 2) through 210 (measure 1) of the current published orchestral score. The passage forms part of the middle section of a tripartite structure that begins and ends with the renowned "Musetta's Waltz" ("Quando m'en vo"). At this point in the plot, the inhabitants of Paris's Latin Quarter, gathering to celebrate Christmas Eve at the Cafe Momus, witness the spectacle of Musetta's successful attempt to win back her lover. The section as a whole presented a problem for Puccini's librettists, who had …