Giacomo Puccini (1842 – 1900) Giacomo Puccini was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, stemming from the late-Baroque era. La Bohème is set in Paris around 1830 and shows the Bohemian lifestyle (known in French as “la bohème”) of a poor seamstress and her artist friends. It has become part of the standard Italian opera repertory and is one of the most frequently performed operas worldwide.