The French writer Henri Murger (1822-1861) was part of the impoverished Parisian artist bohemia. His famous novel "Les scènes de la vie de bohème," as the original title goes, depicts his friends from that time in a slightly veiled manner. In addition, Murger wrote about a dozen other works that are now forgotten. In 1896, Giacomo Puccini released his opera "La Bohème," based on Murger's novel, which became a worldwide success and remains one of the most performed operas to this day. Just a year later, Ruggiero Leoncavallo's opera of the same name, also based on Murger, premiered but failed to achieve Puccini's success.