BalletMet to add New Orleans flavor to 'La Bohème'

Belinda M. Paschal, Columbus DispatchThu, May 7, 2026 at 10:01 AM UTC

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Trading Paris’ Latin Quarter for the French Quarter of New Orleans, BalletMet will reimagine “La Bohème” amid the merriment of Mardi Gras.

In Remi Wörtmeyer’s first full-length ballet as the company’s artistic director, the story of love, loss, art, and hardship is relocated to be more relatable to central Ohio audiences.

“I wanted to make it relevant to Americans. There was a real bustling bohemian artistic movement mirroring what was going on in Paris,” said the Australian-born Wörtmeyer.

“I had an apartment in the Latin Quarter, so I’ve been that bohemian artist in Paris. Coming from Europe to America, I wanted to take a new angle on it.”

While researching, Wörtmeyer visited New Orleans a couple of times and was struck by the resilience of the citizens, which he felt reflected the “can-do attitude” of characters in the opera.

“La Bohème” is about people coming together, getting through hardships together, being a community together,” he said.

“Especially with Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans really speaks to me in that way. We live in times where it’s really important that we come together.”

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As part of the rebirth the production represents, “La Bohème” will feature new sets and costumes designed and built in BalletMet’s studios.

BalletMet will perform a reimagined version of "La Bohème" May 13-17 in the Davidson Theatre at the Riffe Center.

Led by conductor Rossen Milanov, the Columbus Symphony will perform while positioned onstage amid the sets and scenery.

Wörtmeyer noted that the opera is not only relatable because of its setting, but its appeal to emotions, which transcends spoken word.

“When it’s body language, it’s universal. It doesn’t matter where it’s performed or who’s watching, there’s no language barrier. It’s the body expressing human feelings the most natural of ways,” he said.

“We’re born into this world without being able to speak a language, but babies are still able to express themselves."

Details: 7:30 p.m. May 13-16; 2 p.m. May 16; noon and 5:30 p.m. May 17, Davidson Theatre at the Riffe Center, 77 S. High St. Tickets: $40.65 to $106.80. (balletmet.org)

Contact features and entertainment reporter Belinda M. Paschal at bpaschal@dispatch.com.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: BalletMet's 'La Bohème' set in New Orleans

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