Instead, they’ll be left with a notion that the pain was worth the fleeting moments of joy.

When the audience leaves the theater, they won’t be left with the heaviness of inevitability. But where does it start? As we move through the world of memory, we witness a resurrection and a new love blooming. We know there’s a darkness to it, we watch the death and tragedy unfold. But the effect is profound: Suddenly, ‘La bohème,’ this classic, archetypal opera, becomes a bit of a mystery. So a reverse chronology comes more easily than you might expect. “The music that begins Act I and Act IV is almost identical,” Sharon said, “and even in its normal chronology, ‘La bohème’ isn’t a connected linear narrative, but a collection of short episodic narratives. The story will be told from finish to start, from death to the promise of new love, from loneliness and despair to the joy of friendships, wine and song, presenting audiences a story of hope, life and love. This performance spins Puccini’s opus on its head, presenting the opera in reverse order. In this new arrangement, director Yuval Sharon and Detroit Opera reappraise the ways in which audiences and artists can interact with repertoire, bringing fresh eyes and ears to a classic while extracting hope from tragedy, life from death and love from loneliness. This is Kahl’s 14th production as a chorister with Detroit Opera. Schoff, who recently performed in “Frida,” is in her 15th production as a chorister, in addition to other work with the Detroit Opera, on stage and in the community. Grosse Pointers Oscar DeLuca and Roxanne Norris will perform in the Children’s Chorus, while Diane Rae Schoff of Grosse Pointe Woods and Claire Chardon Kahl of Grosse Pointe Park are choristers. A handful of Grosse Pointe residents will grace the stage when Detroit Opera - previously Michigan Opera Theatre - presents “La bohème,” opening this weekend.

La boheme detroit opera house