Sì, mi chiamano Mimi

I have listened to Mimi dying of tuberculosis hundreds of times (my constant urge for romance, drama and death bring me often to the world of Puccini), and I have never questioned the cause of her death. But now I wonder, was it really tuberculosis; the symptoms are very similar to swine flu.

In lack of anything more important to do, I have spent the whole day at the office wondering about this. At home Houellebecq, Pamuk and French grammar must wait while I am desperately reading the libretto for La Bohème; was Mimi at some point in contact with pigs?



(With my my constant urge for romance, drama and death, well, I could also have settled with a life as an opera singer. Dying in the arms of José Cura, what a wonderful Mimi I could have been.)