This week is all about Christmas. And wine. As it happens, in opera. Through art.

You are looking at a scene from Puccini’s La Boheme, one of the world’s most beloved operas of love and loss amidst bohemian life in 1830s Paris. Act II to be precise, originally set at the Parisian Café Momus.

In a stroke of genius, Valentino Monticello transported the scene to South Audley Street in London, the location of the iconic Harry’s Bar where he was head sommelier.

Monticello - who in addition to fine wine had an encyclopaedic knowledge of opera - magically recreated in London a near replica of Adolfo Hohenstein’s set design for the original La Bohème (staged in 1896 at the Teatro Regio in Turin).

Set design by Adolfo Hohenstein for the original La Bohème (1896)

Valentino Monticello’s intricate artwork is composed entirely of cutouts from labels taken from bottles of fine French wine - nothing is drawn or painted. Each of the multiple figures warrants a close inspection, with aspects of wine labels placed ingeniously for both humour and effect. Note the Christmas caroling deeper into the crowd, the St. Paul’s cathedral in the distance and the glorious full moon above.

Valentino Monticello, *La Boheme*, detail

The action takes place on Christmas Eve, as Rodolfo introduces his friends to his new girlfriend Mimí who, in this recounting, is festively attired in a Petrus skirt and very telling shoes.

Valentino Monticello, *La Boheme,* detail, Mimi’s skirt made from a Petrus wine label

Nearby at the tables, Musetta ignores her elderly companion in a bid to attract the attention of her former lover, Marcello, who seems otherwise engaged. The smirk of the waiter observing this scene from the sideline is priceless.

Valentino Monticello, *La Boheme*, detail, tempting the Ex

This exquisite artwork is in a private collection, but should you crave a print for the holidays, do visit the website run by Monticello’s daughter, Claudia Monticello:

https://www.valentinomonticello.com

Christmas, Wine, Opera and Art