What is the C doing here? The aria delivered by Mimì the seamstress, »Mi chiamano Mimì«, is in D major and in that key the C actually rises by a semi-tone to become a sharp. For the uninitiated: that is why there is this second, tiny cross at the start of every line of notation. But as soon as the aria starts, this is reversed and we stick with a C for the first two bars of the violoncello (Vc.). And then something happens that’s typical of Puccini and gives this stretch of music its unmistakeable sound: a note which, a moment before, had only been spicing up a chord now becomes the chord’s core element in the bass clef. This confers an ambiguity on the harmonious edifice, resulting in sound that floats more and is richer, albeit harder to define – and fits with Mimì’s uncertainty vis-à-vis the writer, Rodolfo, in this scene, which comes shortly after the two have met.

Dr Takt's ideas to LA BOHEME / Act I, rehearsal figure 35