As part of the first edition of the Pompei Festival, Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème was performed on 18 September 2014 at one of the world’s most important archaeological sites, against the spectacular backdrop of the Teatro Grande.

The production took full advantage of the extraordinary natural setting of the Pompeii excavations, which had not been used for an event of this kind for years, and featured an internationally renowned cast.

Maestro Alberto Veronesi conducted the Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania. The stage production was directed by Carlo Antonio De Lucia, with television direction by Sasà Badulli.

Recognising the unique opportunity to combine the prestige of a world-famous location such as Pompeii with the finest Italian musical tradition, Pepito Produzioni acquired the worldwide television rights to the event, including the image rights of tenor Vittorio Grigolo from Sony International.

La Bohème a Pompei comprises two television projects: the edited opera, preceded by a seven-minute documentary introduction to Pompeii, with a total running time of 121 minutes; and a 24-minute backstage documentary about Pompeii, accompanied by an educational introduction to La Bohème.

The programmes were acquired by Sky Arte and Rai Com and broadcast on Rai channels during 2015.