Project Description

Poster design for a production of La Bohème

This poster was created for the Washington, D.C., Capital City Opera for the 1997 production of “La Bohème.” The story behind this poster is interesting. Mauricio Reyes, who created the poster, was not familiar with La Bohème. After a quick visit to the public library, where he read the libretto, he realized that he would need a main character for the illustration.

Reyes traveled to Maryland to antique stores in search of a “sad and beautiful woman.” At the end of a long day of looking without any luck, he stopped at the last antique store where the owner said, “I have a small box of vintage photographs in my attic. Do you want to see it?” Reyes was delighted to find a photograph of Elizabeth Barker, who starred as “Mimi.” The original photograph is from 1901 and measured only 3.5″X2″.  The image was drum scanned at 8,000 dpi.

The photo collage is made of nine different layers and the delicate typography used is Snell Round Sans.

The Result

This poster was seen in the public transport system in Washington DC.  Metro, Buses and posters and the Center itself.  We received letters from people asking who the model was.  This design was very well received by officials from The Kennedy Center.

Elements of the Design