Where have I seen this? Finding bits of ‘La bohème’ in pop culture

Even if you haven’t seen La bohème onstage, you’ve likely seen or heard La bohème (or “La bo-heem,” as Frank Oz said in Trading Places). Here’s a look at the opera’s appearances in popular culture, from the obvious to the lesser-known.

Director Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! takes the 1890s Paris setting and enthralling music of the classic opera for a feverishly glamorous spin. The success of the Academy Award-nominated film led to its eventual move to Broadway.

An opera so famous that even The Simpsons referenced it. In the “Homer of Seville” episode, Homer draws the attention of the Springfield Opera House founder after singing “If Ever I Would Leave You” from the musical Camelot. That moment led to him starring as Rodolfo in La bohème, where he hilariously showcased his operatic talents the only way he knew how — on his backside.

Singer Della Reese helmed a rendition of Puccini’s “Musetta’s Waltz” on the 1959 hit “Don’t You Know.” While less operatic than the original, Reese’s more melodic performance sprung the Bobby Worth-written adaptation to No. 1 on the U.S. R&B charts.

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Jonathan Larson’s musical is probably the most popular modern take on Puccini’s opera, replacing Paris with New York and the plague of tuberculosis with the AIDS epidemic. “Light My Candle” incorporates melodies from “Che gelida manina,” and the plot loosely follows the original, except for one major difference: Mimì lives in the end.

Opera-worthy emotions crescendo in the Cher and Nicolas Cage rom-com, where Cage plays an opera aficionado whose bedroom wall features realist painter Jamie Wyeth’s La bohème poster. He falls for his brother’s fiancé — their love is instant and frantic, much like Mimì and Rodolfo’s — and the pair attends the Met’s performance of the opera in the movie.

Puccini appears in many soundtracks, including one key episode of Buffy. The vampire Angel kills off a core character and creates a horrific scene at the home of the victim’s would-be lover. Giles opens the door to see candles and roses leading upstairs. “O soave fanciulla” plays as his delight turns to devastation when he finds her corpse in his bed.